LAT: New Adventures - Journey
by Essansee
Summary: The second installment of the LAT: New Adventures series. This story features Annette, who feels as though there could be more to life than a shadow of her identical sisters. Follow Annette as she finds her place in the world. Along the way, she meets new friends, new enemies, and she finds herself in a whole world of trouble...
1. Ch 1 Mirror Image

**Hi guys! It's me, Essansee, back with a new story! Exciting right? Welcome back, loyal followers, and welcome to you just starting out on the LAT series. This is the second installment of our tale, and it shall be placed directly after the first story. Be sure to check it out, its strongly advised to read this one AFTER the first one written.**

**Happy reading. :)**

"How long do you think she can go?"

"No idea."

Annette and Collette, the two Cocker Spaniel mix pups, were watching their identical sister, Danielle, bounce happily around them in a wide circle in the living room. She was giggling loudly, obviously very happy.

It was nearly bath-time for the three pups. Or, not really pups anymore. The dogs were quickly growing up in the home they'd been born and raised in. They lived in the huge Victorian house with their parents, the beautiful Lady, and their legendary father Tramp. Not to mention their brother and his best friend, (or girlfriend when the triplets were in a teasing mood) Angel.

Speaking of their brother-here he came. Annette turned her head, silky ears swinging, to see him poke his scruffy gray head around the doorway. Collette was still focused on Danielle. She was more interested in watching her ever hyper sister bounding with joy.

"Hi Scamp." Annette called out in her soft voice. Some would say that the young dog sounded prissy, but she had no idea what they were talking about. She thought her voice sounded nice. Almost identical to Collette. This part she regretted slightly, though. She never admitted it, but sometimes it was a bother to have two identical sisters. The only thing telling the three apart in looks was their collars. Annette wore a blue collar, while Danielle's was white. Collette's collar was a bright and jolly red. Of course, there was always Danielle's voice as well. She was much louder than her sisters. She had a louder laugh, and her voice was a deeper in pitch.

Scamp jumped when he heard Annette speak to him. She tilted her head slightly. He was up to something. Or maybe he just didn't want a bath. Scamp hated baths, it was well known among the family. Annette's suspicions were confirmed when Danielle let out a loud, snorting laugh and bunny-hopped over to Scamp.

"Hiya Scamp! Ready for..." She paused dramatically for affect, then burst out loudly, emphasizing the last word. "Bathtime!"

The gray pup took off in a skittering run.

"Nope!" He called over his shoulder. Annette rolled her eyes. Collette had, at this time, turned her attention to her sister.

"Annette." She said matter of factly, but in a teasing manner. "If you do that too much, you're going to turn into Angel!"

Danielle crouched playfully, letting her tongue fall out the side of her mouth before she spoke.

"Ha! Ya! Then Scamp will take baths with us!"

Annette laughed briefly with her sisters. Currently, her brother and his close friend were the talk of the house, especially since they had recently saved the masters' young son from certain death. Only just days before, the toddler, Junior, had been kidnapped by Tramp and Scamp's old enemy, Buster. The big Doberman dog wanted revenge, even if it meant going so far as to eat a human child to get it. He and his accomplice, Harley, had been defeated by Tramp, Scamp, Angel and their friend Meelus. Buster was killed in the fight that ensued, but Harley had escaped, and was still roaming the streets.

Annette surpressed a shudder as her thoughts drifted. She hadn't seen the dog for herself, but she heard the stories from her family, who said that he was huge, white, and never uttered a sound, not even when he was fighting or killing. She hoped she never had to deal with such. Then again, she didn't even want to leave the yard, unless it was on a relaxing stroll with her masters, Jim Dear and Darling.

Another of Danielle's loud laughs snapped the daydreaming young dog out of her thoughts. She rand to greet Jim Dear, who was tromping into the room, swinging his head around as though searching for something. In his arms was Angel. The feisty little cream colored dog was soaked to the bone. Her long fur was sticking up in spikes from being toweled dry, and she looked for all the world like she wished she was anywhere but here. Jim dropped the mixed breed on the floor of the living room, where she shook herself and darted away as quickly as possible.

"Darling! Have you seen Scamp? I can't find that pup anywhere!" Jim Dear exclaimed. His call was immediatly followed by a muffled yipe, and he dissapeared from the room. He returned moments later with a wiggling Scamp gripped tightly with both hands. Angel pranced behind him, wearing a triumphant smile on her pretty face. Scamp glared down at her miserably.

"Snitch."

Annette secretly loved watching the pair. Even though they were always picking on each other, everyone knew that the two dogs were very much in love.

Jim Dear switched Scamp to the left arm and patted his side with the other hand.

"Here girls. Bath-time." He called to the identical spaniel-mix pups.

The three girls erupted into squeals of happiness as they bounded excitedly after the man. Danielle was in the lead, with Collette right behind her. The two were arguing about who was getting their bath after Scamp.

Annette was last, but she stayed out of the little spat between her sisters. She never won anyway. Danielle was usually pushy enough to end up at the front of the line, or Collette would act cute enough that Jim felt the need to pick her up. It didn't really bother the young dog. It had always been this way.

Jim Dear rounded the corner and instantly plunked Scamp into a tub of fresh bathwater, eager to get this job done as fast as possible. The girls jumped back in surprise when soapy water spilled out over the bath table.

Collette tsked and shook her head.

"Oh, brother, when will you learn?"

Danielle burst out with a gruff and happy, "Never!"

Annette nodded her agreement.

"Baths aren't bad at all! You just have to sit back and enjoy them."

Annette could never understand her brother's hatred of water. Or his uncanny ability to find trouble. That dog was always into something.

"Girls." Annette, Collette, and Danielle all turned to see their parents, side by side, coming towards them. Lady was walking slowly, matching the pace of her limping mate. His right front leg was splinted stiffly due to the break in it. He'd hurt his leg badly in the fight with Buster.

Lady was giving her pups a stern look. They all knew that picking on each other was not acceptable.

Collette ducked her head.

"Sorry mom."

Annette spoke in her sister's sheepish silence that followed.

"We didn't mean any harm!"

Lady and Tramp laughed.

Tramp nudged Annette's cheek affectionately.

"We know that. We just want you girls to be proper little ladies." He flipped Annette's silky brown ear up with his nose and muttered into it, "But I've got a stash of steak bones with your name on it if you can convince Scamp tha-"

"Tramp!" Lady laughed. Tramp ducked into a remorseful crouch.

"Sorry Pidge. We were only having a little chat about the weather, I swear it!"

The triplet spaniels doubled into peals of laughter.

Annette loved her family.

The three sisters were lying side by side on the front porch of the enourmous Victorian house. Collette had one of Danille's ears draped over her paws. She was licking it diligently, smoothing the fur until every inch was silky smooth. All of the girls were proud of their ears.

Annette was lying on Collette's opposite side with her chin resting between her paws on the wood of the porch. She was gazing past the porch, looking at the midday sky, and the white, fluffy clouds creeping across the sky.

A sudden foul smell drifted across Annette's muzzle. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. She wasn't alone. Her sisters had raised their heads and were looking in the direction the smell had come. Annette sighed softly. It was the garbage again. Someone, for more than a month now, had been dropping heavy bags of rubbish over the Darling's white picket fence, and leaving it on the pristine lawn to rot.

Jim Dear picked it up when he could, and had even contacted the police about the mess, but nothing had been done so far to stop the mess. It happened every day, sometime early in the morning when everyone was sound asleep.

Annette stood up. "Come on, I don't want to be near that stink." She said in disgust.

Danielle stuck her tongue out.

"It's gross!"

The dogs hopped down the white porch steps and trotted off into the grass.

Turning the corner of the big house, Annette spotted Angel and Scamp talking to their friend Meelus. The wide-set red dog towered over Angel and Scamp, but he wore a friendly look on his dopey, fluffy face. As he lowered his head to speak to his friends, a big ruff of fur fell down around his neck, giving him the appearance of a lion.

"Oooh! It's Meelus!" Collette whispered excitedly, ducking back around the corner of the house and out of sight. Danielle followed her, giggling and snickering. Annette tilted her head and watched them. She never could understand her sisters' obsession with the shaggy red dog. He was a sweetheart, but he spoke in circles. Annette found it hard to talk to him without getting confused.

Collette practically hissed in her frustration at Annette. "He's going to see you! And then us."

Annette sighed and reluctantly walked back around the wall with her lovestruck sisters, who were taking turns peeking at the big male. Collette eventually shoved Annette forward with her paw, probably thinking she was doing her a favor in giving her a turn. Annette stumbled forward, pretended to take a look, and then stepped quickly backwards until she was behind her sisters. The two weren't paying any attention to her now. She took her chance and tiptoed silently away.

Once she was out of sight and earshot, Annette quickened her pace and relaxed. She was free of her sisters for the moment. The Spaniel-mix felt a little lighter all of a sudden. There was a cool breeze in the air that rustled through her fur, letting her know that fall was creeping in on the quiet little town. Annette lifted her chin in the soft wind, letting it blow her long ears back a little.

The daydreaming dog wandered down the clean, well kept street. She was still in the neighborhood. The houses were enclosed in manicured bushes and flower gardens, iron gates, picket fences, and a very cozy hedge that blocked the private street from the world's view.

Annette hardly noticed that she was now close to Trusty's secret store of bones. Everyone knew where the poor old dog kept them. They stayed away simply out of respect for the aging Scottie.

Annette was jolted back into reality when she found herself tumbling head over heels with a mass of warm fur.

"Umph!" She grunted.

She and the mass wiggled and wrestled in their attempt to seperate from each other. She finally found her footing and stood, backing away slightly. She could now see with surprise that it was a dog, about her own age. His fur was white, for the most part. He was covered in patches of tannish-brown spots, and his ears perked forward. Each side of his face was seperated into the same coloring, over his ears and eyes.

He stood up in a very un-scary fighting stance, legs stiff.

"Hey! Those bones are mine, Bub. If you-" The dog cut himself off and stood straight, probably seeing that his attacker was hardly older than himself.

"Uh.." Annette looked up at the dog's face, realizing he was slightly taller than she was.

"Hi." He said, apparently still in shock.

Annette said nothing. She was suddenly feeling shy.


	2. Ch 2 A New Friend

Annette wasn't sure why, but she was blushing badly under her fur. The new dog was watching her with wide eyes. He ducked his head slightly, as though embarrassed. He shuffled his front paws lightly and stammered an apology.

"I-I'm sorry, Ma'am._ So _sorry, I thought you were someone else. A stray, Ma'am." There was a split second of quiet before the pup spoke again in his husky voice, quickly trying to recover himself. "I mean you don't look like a stray and you have that collar, I didn't see you at first, I'm sorry!"

Annette relaxed her tense body a little. This dog wasn't as tough as he made himself out to be. He seemed nice. That didn't stop her from blushing all the harder when he tilted his head and looked at her with wonder.

"You are a pet, ent' ya?" He said.

"Yes, I am." The little mixed breed finally managed, although she still struggled to find her voice. She noticed that the spotted dog wore no collar himself. He was thin enough that Annette could see his ribs barely peeking out from under skin that was beginning to draw close.

So that's why he was willing to fight over a few old bones.

"Err-" The dog muttered. "May I ask your name, Ma'am?"

"My name is Annette." She replied, and sat down quietly. She tilted her head back and forth and perked her long brown ears, waiting to see if the funny little dog would give his own name.

"Mitch." He said, and wagged his tail back and forth quickly. Annette noticed with surprise that he had a stump tail like she did. Well, she and her family. Both her mother, father, and siblings shared the trait. Mitch spoke again. "Pleased to meet you, Ma-I mean, Annette." He corrected himself. Annette couldn't help but give a little smile. There was just something about her new friend that made it impossible not to do so. She was curious about the funny little dog. A terrier, he seemed to be. Or maybe a mix?

The growl of Mitch's hungry belly caught Annette's attention. The brown and white dog winced when he noticed that Annette had heard. He shook his head and sighed loudly.

"Well-I guess that's lunchtime." He turned in the direction of Jock's bone burial and looked shyly over his shoulder at Annette.

"Would you..um. Do you want to share with me?" He was polite. But Annete had to decline. This was Jock's secret hideaway, after all! She couldn't bear to see any dog steal from the old terrier.

"Wait! Those bones belong to someone." She declared as she stood up to stop her new friend. He gave her a questioning look, asking with his intelligent eyes for an explanation. She gave it to him in detail, letting him know all about Jock, and how the neighborhood dogs all knew to steer clear of his favorite spot. She emphasized the importance of respecting elders, and that Jock had been hiding his bones here since long before she was even born.

Mitch watched her talk with rapt attention. He nodded agreement from time to time, or shook his head when it was time to shake a head. He gave little 'oohs' and 'I sees' where applicable. Annette finished and took a deep breath.

Mitch furrowed his eyebrows. He winced again, probably from hunger pangs. He looked at Annette after what seemed to be a bit of hard thinking.

"I didn't know that you housepets were so respectful to each other." He perked his ears forward, and his eyes locked on Annette's. "Forgive me Ma'am." He said. "I won't disturb this neighborhood again."

Annette's felt a pang of regret. Did that mean he wasn't going to come back? She didn't want her new friend to be gone for good.

He turned to trot away, glancing back at Annette with a tail wagging smile while he walked. With a jolt of courage that Annette didn't even know she had, she was after him.

"Wait!" She cried out softly.

Mitch raised his eyebrows, looking startled.

"Hey you." He said awkwardly.

"Can I come with you?" Annette breathed. She wasn't stopping to see if there was a yes or no answer though, she was now trotting beside the pup, keeping up with his steady pace.

"Sure!" He said eagerly. "But won't your family worry?"

Annette thought briefly about her family. She pictured Scamp and Angel romping through the house, getting scolded gently by her loving parents. She could see Darling rocking Junior in front of the fireplace at night, and Jim Dear reading his newspaper.

She saved her sisters for last. The two other parts to her whole being. She could see them waiting for baths, napping in the sun, teasing Scamp...Annette thought back to earlier that day, when her sisters wanted her to join in with them, as they watched Meelus. She thought about how much she loved them, but how pushy they were when she didn't care to join in their activities.

Finally, she answered Mitch, feigning confidence. She had never really been away from home before. "I'll go back later. I don't think they'll worry about me."

Mitch eyed her curiously, but shrugged his patchy shoulders. The two turned out of the neighborhood, away from the Victorian houses. Annette surpressed the urge to look back. She was a little scared. The silky fringing the backs of her legs was brushing the ground, getting dusty already. She focused on this instead. Outside was dirty. She looked down at her feet as she walked. She would need a bath when she made it back home. Imagine what her sisters would think of all that dirt on the sidewalk!

A small twig caught in the now dusty fur. She picked up her feet dramatically as she stepped, trying to get it off. She almost didn't hear Mitch's voice ring out, and she certainly didn't see where she was going.

A sharp tug on her collar sent her crashing backwards, where she landed with her paws in the air. Her eyes were wide and startled, and staring at Mitch, who was standing over her.

"What was that all about?" She demanded.

"Haven't you ever seen a car before?" Mitch nodded to the street. Annette's stump tail was only inches from it. Mitch had pulled her out of the road. "You could have gotten hit! What were you looking at?" He scolded. He was scolding her. Annette felt a surge of indignace. She held up her paw to show him the stick caught in her fur.

"A _stick_?" He announced his shock. "You were worried about a _stick_?" Annette rolled over and sat up, but said nothing. She didn't know how to respond to this. She dared a look at the dog that had probably just saved her life. When she did, surprise took over.

His mouth was clamped shut tightly. He was trying his best not to laugh. the terrier closed his eyes and released a few snorts that were too hard to surpress, and finally belted out a few laughs. Annette's fur flushed again, this time out of embarrassment. She turned her attention on the stick in her fur, clamping her teeth around it to tug it out.

The laughter stopped. Annette felt a paw nudge her shoulder gently.

"Hey. I'm sorry." Mitch mumbled. Annette spit the stick out and risked a glance at her friend. His eyes were wide and glistening.

"Oh it's fine." Annette recovered. She didn't like that look. He didn't look happy. She forced a tail wag to show him that all was well. He released a heavily surpressed breath of relief. He nudged Annette's shoulder again.

"Hey, I think I know where we should go." He said, while his belly rumbled loudly again. Annette stood and watched the dog. He shot a look at the street, which was humming with automobiles. "Not that way."

Annette started after the spotted dog as he set off down the sidewalk, keeping clear of the road. The two walked in silence for a while. They passed rows of shops and houses, ducked under pedestrian's feet, dodged children, and admired windows full of delicious looking food.

Annette had nearly forgotten that she was walking with a stray, and that she was now far from home. She glanced over at her friend, who had stopped walking. He was staring down an alley filled with crates, boxes, and heavy shadows.

"Here we are!" Mitch said cheerfully. Annette was jolted back into the slightly fearful reality that she was walking through a stray's world. Mitch took a few cautious steps into the dark alley. It wasn't even paved like the rest of the street.

"You can stay out there if you want." Mitch said quietly. His husky voice still echoed off of the brick walls though. Annette took a quick look at the well lit afternoon streets bordering the alleyway. Mitch didn't wait for her decision. He was already pushing a trash can with all of his might. The can rocked back and forth but didn't budge. He had Annette's attention now.

Mitch sucked in a frustrated breath. Annette watched from the street's edge as he backed up, then raced forward and tackled the can. It hit the ground with an earsplitting crash that made Annette flinch.

Mitch was inside of the can in an instant. Annette could hear him scratching through the rubbish. She could still see his rear end sticking out of the can. His tail began to wag. His voice rang out through the trash can happily.

"Jackpot!" He ducked out and ran to Annette happily, showing off a large hambone clutched in his jaws. Hunks of meat still clung to the bone.

Both dogs cringed though when a creaky door swung wide open. It was the butcher, exiting his shop with another round of garbage to dispose of.

"Hey!" He shouted, dropping his load in shock. The burly man was now stomping towards the dogs, fists clenched angrily. He gestured to the tipped can and shouted a few obscene words.

Annette was nearly paralyzed with fear. She'd never had a human yell at her like this before! Mitch mumbled something unintelligable around his ham bone and shoved Annette with his nose. She nearly lost her balance, but managed to get going. Mitch was right behind her, shoving her along when she slowed down. They were headed right for the street, and the heavy, angry man was still behind them, waving and cursing.

Mitch let out a determined growl and pushed Annette harder than ever when she balked at the road. She landed in the pavement with a slight thud, but Mitch made her get up. He pushed her across the street with his muscular shoulder, and all she could do was stumble along as fast as she could. Luckily for the two dogs, there weren't any cars headed their way.

Mitch growled out more words that Annette couldn't understand through the mouthful. He kept pushing her until they were well out of the street, as though he was afraid that if she stayed too close, one of the cars would somehow suck her up.

The butcher had finally given up on the chase, and was now crouched with his heavy hands on his knees, wheezing from the run. Mitch and Annette saw this and relaxed to a trot. Annette looked around briefly, taking in the surroundings. They were on the edge of a neighborhood crowded with older houses, with peeling paint and tiny dirt streets between them.

Mitch gestured with his head to Annette to follow him as he ducked down one of the small dirt sidestreets. Annette stuck to his heels as he made his way deeper into the neighborhood. A cat screeched somewhere in the distance and Annette nearly jumped out of her skin. Mitch chuckled when she did. The sound was somehow comforting. It made it seem like everything was okay.

Finally, the pair stopped at the end of one of the rows of houses. Mitch dropped his bone and gave it an admiring look. Annette was more interested in the squat blue house looming overhead. It was obviously abandoned. Grass grew around it, almost as tall as the little white porch in some places. The hedge that stood along one side of the house was overgrown, with sprigs and branches poking out in all directions.

"This is some place, isn't it?" Mitch said. He flopped down on his belly, settling down to gnaw the ham off of his bone.

Annette mumbled an agreement.

"I've never seen a house like this before. At home everything is taken care of, all around." She looked at Mitch. He was staring at her with his head tilted to the side. Annette had only known the dog for a few hours, but she had already come to realize that this meant that he was thinking.

"Everything is taken care of." He echoed. "You've never really seen the world, have you? He said softly. Annette said nothing. Her friend shook his head hard in the silence and then smiled warmly. He nodded at the bone in front of his paws.

"Ladies first."

Annette hesitated.

"I...You eat it. You're hungry." She said, causing Mitch to shake his head again and shove the bone away.

"I'm not eating anything until you do." He said teasingly. Annette huffed. Despite this though, she went to lie down beside her friend. She was really starting to enjoy this dog's company. He was friendly and kind, and he made her smile.

The pair shared the meal together, tugging bits and pieces of meat off until the bone was picked clean and white. It seemed to be over in a second. Annette watch her friend licking the bare bone for a while.

"It must be hard to live out here." She remarked, causing Mitch to raise his head. He gave her another warming smile.

"It's not so bad. It does get lonely though." He tilted his head up to the blue house and abruptly changed the subject.

"I like this place. I could stay here." He snapped his gaze intently back to Annette. "You could come visit me." He said, startling her. He looked hopeful. "Would you, Ma'am?"

Annette found herself agreeing with the dog before she even thought consciously about it.

"I could. I could come visit tomorrow."

Mitch jumped up and did a happy, bouncy dance. He wagged his little tail and started making plans.

"I'll come to get you tomorrow. I wouldn't want you getting lost." He snapped his mouth shut and then opened it again in one of his fast talking recovery moments. "I mean you might not be safe out on the streets and I'll protect you." He puffed out his chest and curled his lip in a mock growl.

Annette laughed lightly. Mitch was a funny dog.

"Maybe I can protect myself!" She exclaimed playfully. She bared her teeth and released an embarrassingly squeaky growl. She and Mitch both laughed at the blunder. Annette looked at the sky. The sun was getting lower and lower as each minute passed. She wasn't ready to go home quite yet. But she didn't want everyone to worry about her anymore than they probably already were.

Mitch voiced her thoughts aloud.

"I should probably take you home now."

Annette nodded and stood, and the two began to make their way back to the Victorian neighborhood.

Mitch and Annette were walking slowly down the sidewalk as the sun set behind them. They were talking as they went along, as if they had been friends all of their lives, and not half a day. They turned into the tidy little neighborhood that Annette called home and halted. The two dogs faced each other when they stopped. Mitch spoke first.

"Well, it was fun. I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

Annette nodded.

"I'll be right here at noon, like I promised." She said confidently.

Mitch looked up at the sky, where faint stars were beginning to twinkle into the sky. He spoke without looking at Annette.

"I'd love to get to know you better. You're really nice."

Annette started to speak when she heard a brash, familiar laugh. She and Mitch both turned to see Collette and Danielle trotting down the sidewalk, some distance away.

Mitch squinted. "There's more of you?" He questioned. Annette barely heard him.

"Those are my sisters." She said quickly, almost panicking. As selfish as it may have seemed, she didn't want them to be a part of her newfound friendship. She couldn't quite explain why, but she wanted this for herself.

"I'll be here tomorrow, I promise. Wait here for me, alright?" She said in her soft voice, which was rising a bit in pitch.

"O-okay. I'll be here." Mitch stammered. He backed up, sensing Annette's need to be alone.

"I'll be here!" He repeated, watching Annette leave. She cast a last look at her new friend over her shoulder and darted off down the sidewalk towards her sisters.

Annette yipped a greeting to the two dogs, who barked back happily.

"Annette!" Collette exclaimed. "Where have you been? We've been looking all over the place for you."

Collette skidded to a clumsy halt, nose to nose with Annette. Her little black nose twitched and her eyes met Annette's.

"You smell like ham." She said matter-of-factly, in her deep voice.

"Uh..." Annette didn't really know what to say to her sisters. She hadn't thought that far. Collette tsked once and flounced over to Annette to look her over.

"Your paws are dirty, sister. And your ears are all messy."

Annette felt relief that Collette cared more about her dirty state than anything else at the moment. She stammered an excuse to cover her tracks before her sisters could ask more questions.

"It was a nice day. I went to the park."

Collette raised an eyebrow but left it alone.

"Well, come on home. Jim Dear and Darling are having a party and and we get turkey in our bowls tonight!"

Annette perked her ears. That sounded nice. Her little meal with Mitch wasn't much, and her belly was still empty. She and her sisters clustered together against a cold night's wind and headed for home.

"Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!" Jim Dear sang out to all of the dogs. He and Darling had adorned every one of their bowls with row upon row of sliced turkey. All of the dogs dug in heartily. Annette licked dripping brown gravy off of hers first. It was delicious. She suspected that the family wouldn't be able to finish the feast tonight. The spaniel mix swallowed a bite of warm turkey. Collette and Danielle were chattering over theirs. Annette listened to them talk. She was so wrapped up in their conversation that she jumped with surprise when Tramp nudged her.

"You're awfully quiet tonight." He said gently. He lifted his hind leg while he was talking to dodge Scamp, who was running from Angel and would have otherwise smacked into his father.

Collette poked a bit of her turkey with a paw.

"She's been like that since she came back from the park today."

Tramp perked his ears at Collette's words.

Lady looked up from her meal.

"The park?" She said.

Annette looked between her parents and grasped for something to say.

"Um. Yeah, Mom. I took a walk today." She smiled at her mother.

Tramp nudged her again.

"Without me? Annette, how could you!" She giggled at her father's teasing, but she could see that he still had a questioning look in his eyes. He was really wondering why she hadn't taken her sisters.

The older dog gave her another more meaningful shove, and then yawned loudly.

"Well, I don't know about you girls, but I'm beat." He mumbled through the yawn. Lady mimicked the yawn behind him.

Scamp and Angel were nowhere to be seen.

Lady began rounding her daughters up while Tramp watched with pride.

"It's bedtime, girls. Come along now." Lady said kindly.

Annette shuffled off in a little herd with her sisters, yawning hugely herself. She'd had a long day. It was definitly bedtime.


	3. Ch 3 Enlightenment

Annette blinked herself awake before anyone in the house. She surpressed a yawn that shook her entire body, which was aching terribly. All that running yesterday really did her in. She wasn't use to it at all. Still blinking drowsily, she looked over at her sisters, who were huddled against her, sleeping soundly. Danielle was snoring a little and Collette's right paw was twitching.

Annette eased away from the two very carefully. They looked so peaceful, she didn't want to wake them. One of her ears tickled Collette's nose as she stood. She froze. Collette stirred lightly and forced her eyes open, squinting at her sister in confusion.

"Mm..Annette?" She mumbled. "Whassyou doing?"

"I need to go potty." She whispered discreetly, unsure of how else to word the delimma. Collette mumbled a little more and then lowered her head back down in sleep, obviously satisfied.

Annette hopped out of the little bed she shared with her sisters and tiptoed out of the room. She made her way quietly through the house until she reached the kitchen, where the warm smell of last night's feast still lingered. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. After a moment of relishing the scents, she opened her eyes again and trotted over to where the row of dog bowls sat, one for every canine in the family. Annette's belly growled. She'd been so tired last night that she had only gotten a bite of her share of turkey. She found her bowl and dug in, eating until her belly was full.

When she was finished, she sat down with a contented sigh. She still needed to go outside, but she could hold it a while longer. A yawn escaped her cream colored muzzle. Her thoughts drifted to her new friend Mitch as she sat, gazing around the kitchen. She thought about how hungry he was, how willing he was to rummage through trash for his food. The thought disgusted her. She would never find herself in such filth! She enjoyed being clean.

Annette felt a stab of guilt at how well fed she was, as opposed to Mitch. She imagined him now, somewhere in or around the blue house, probably sleeping. Did hunger pains ever keep him awake? The slender little Spaniel shook her head and stood up. She couldn't leave behind that nagging thought, hard as she tried. She made a decision then to help the poor stray.

Annette gathered up a few thick slices of turkey from the bowls, as much as her mouth could hold, but not enough from each bowl that any of her family would do without. Holding her head high, she trotted lightly from the kitchen and ducked through the pet door. The morning air had a bite to it that made her shiver. She shook it off and continued steadily on her mission, until she had left the yard completely.

When she finally made it to the hedge that lined the sidewalk where she would meet Mitch, she poked her head under the bush and dropped the prize. It would be safe here, so long as no other dog came along before she got back at noon.

Annette nosed it further under the bush for good measure, licked the cold gravy off of her muzzle, and turned around to go back home.

"Here we are, sweetheart. Bathtime for you."

Jim Dear scooped Annette up gently in his arms and dipped her into a tub of soapy bathwater. She felt herself relax instantly as she was immersed. Baths were so soothing! The warmer the better. Jim poured water over her head, where it ran down and made her tan fur a shade darker as it soaked in. She closed her eyes and relished the feeling of the man's hands massaging soap into her fur.

Annette was the last to be bathed today. Scamp had gone first. Jim wanted that done as fast as he possibly could. Angel was next, but she was much more laid back than Scamp had been. She never opposed Jim's decisions. Annette suspected that she was still afraid of being kicked out if the family decided they didn't want her.

Danielle was next, and Collette afterwards. Of course, they loved their baths just as much as Annette did. It was one thing she knew that she and her sisters could agree on wholeheartedly.

Jim Dear scrubbed Annette until every bit of dirt and grime from the day before was gone, washed away in the water. He lifted Annette from the tub, rubbed her down with a fluffy towel, and set her on the floor. She gazed up at the man and wagged her little tail daintily, thanking him for the bath. He smiled at her and scratched her behind one ear.

"You're a sweet girl, you know that?"

Annette gave his hand a little lick. Jim was good to her. He was kind to all of the dogs that lived in the house. He patted Annette's head and stood straight.

"Run along now, go play with your sisters." He said affectionatly.

Annette gave him one last look and headed off to find them. She turned around the doorway to exit the room and spotted her mother, who gave her a friendly smile and trotted over. Lady silently nuzzled her daughter and ran her chin over the pup's back. Annette wagged her tail and turned her head to return the gesture.

"Hi mom." She said softly.

Lady pulled back to look at her.

"Where are your sisters, dear?" She questioned. Annette almost laughed. She loved to be with her sisters, but sometimes it seemed like they really were part of a single unit. One couldn't be somewhere without the others.

"I'm going to look for them. I just finished my bath."

Tramp, who had been lying in front of the couch with his bad leg resting on a soft, green pillow, spoke drowsily to Annette. His whiskered mouth opened into a big yawn as he talked.

"They're out on the porch with Angel." With that, he groaned and buried his head under the green pillow to finish his nap.

Annette said her goodbyes to Lady and decided to let her father rest instead of thanking him. She made her way to the porch, noting that the air was still chilly. Collette and Danielle were lying belly flat on the white painted wood, talking to Angel, who looked a bit uncomfortable. She was smiling at them in a friendly way though as she spoke.

All three girls turned to greet Annette as she stepped out of the house.

"Hi, Annette!" Danielle said eagerly. Collette echoed her with a 'hello' and Angel nodded a greeting to her friend. Annette laid down and made herself comfortable beside her sisters.

"Hello everyone." She said politely. "What are you guys doing?"

"Talking about girl stuff. Boys and such." Collette answered in a prissy way. Danielle nodded her agreement and gave a big grin with her tongue hanging out one side of her mouth. Annette glanced over at Angel. While the sisters weren't looking, Angel rolled her eyes at Annette good naturedly.

Annette liked Angel. Although the two didn't speak much, she treated Annette like she was...well, Annette. She seemed to understand the dog's need to get away from the group once in a while. Angel wasn't a very prissy dog. She was more like Scamp, but a bit better behaved. Annette ducked her head to surpress a smile when she saw the golden dog's gesture. She made a note to herself to talk to Angel a little more.

"We were talkin' about Meelus before you came out, Annette!" Danielle bubbled. "That's the boy we were talking about."

"Well, him and Scamp. For Angel's sake." Annette threw in, probably not meaning to sound as rude as she did. Angel's big, floppy ears went backwards for a split second, but she perked them back up.

"He is one to talk about. Quite the character." She mumbled.

Danielle scoffed. "Scamp took a slipper to the rear this morning."

"Wait. Don't tell me." Angel laughed.

"I don't want to know either." Annette replied, poking fun at her absent brother. There was no telling where he was right now. Probably trying to steer clear of more trouble. Even Scamp knew when to quit sometimes.

Collette giggled.

"Okay, okay. Now back on topic." Annette almost groaned. But that would have been rude. Not to mention un lady-like.

Collette continued. "Wouldn't you girls say that Meelus is just the cutest thing ever? He's so...fluffy!"

Danielle burst out laughing and began to rattle on with Collette about Meelus's fur, and eyes, and his adorably crooked tail. Annette tuned them out and glanced at the sun. It would be time to meet Mitch soon. She wondered if he would like the gift of food she had for him. Did he even like turkey? He didn't really seem like a picky eater.

Annette jumped when a paw prodded her side sharply.

"Earth to Annette!" Collette called out.

Danielle jabbed her again.

"Poke."

Angel was watching the scene with an oddly bemused look on her face. Her head was tilted, making one floppy ear stand up at an odd angle.

"Huh?" Annette blinked. Had she missed something?

Collette sighed.

"I said. Who do you like, Annette? Meelus? Anyone? Tell us!" She practically cooed eagerly.

Annette opened her mouth, trying to find words to roll out for her sister. Who did she like? Certainly not Meelus. Did she even know herself? She furrowed her brow unconsiously. She tried hard to keep her thoughts off of her new friend. Why was he popping up in her head? Why did they have to talk about boys! She finally gave Collette her truest, honest answer.

"I don't know." She said simply.

Collette glared. She wasn't mad, Annette knew this. It was hard to make any of the sweet spaniel sisters angry. She wasn't happy though. She wanted more than this from her daydreaming sibling. Collette said nothing more though, instead she turned to Danielle to question her.

Annette didn't care to hear Danielle's answer. She already knew who's name the goofy dog would blurt out. Instead, Annette stood.

"I think I want to go for a walk." She announced. Collette, without looking, briefly said an okay.

"Can I come?" Angel said hopefully. She tilted her head in the other direction and smiled at Annette. Her grey-blue eyes twinkled in a friendly way.

Annette smiled back.

"Of course."

The two hopped down the porch steps side by side, strolling out into the yard. When they were out of earshot, Angel scrunched up her face in a mock grimace.

"You know, I don't know what they see in that shaggy oaf." She declared.

Annette chuckled.

"Looks, somehow." She said, slipping easily into a conversation with the pomeranian mix.

The two walked in silence for a moment. Annette's curiousity was up. She couldn't help but cautiously dare to throw a question Angel's way.

"Do you see looks in Scamp?" She asked, wording the question rather awkwardly. She winced and hoped Angel would understand what she meant.

The two slowed to a stop when they reached the edge of the yard, near the white picket fence. Angel was quiet for a while. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft.

"I see everything in him. He's my entire world." Her eyes were still sparkling. The steadily rising sun was catching her fur, making it shine a bright and beautiful gold.

"He saved me from the streets. He deserves to be the center of attention." She went on warmly. Annette couldn't help but wonder what that must be like to care for someone with such intensity.

She looked at the sky, and Angel's gaze followed hers.

"You're waiting for something." She mused. Nothing passed this dog's attention unnoticed. She was too sharp to evade.

"I am. There's somewhere I want to be soon." She spilled. Her mouth snapped shut, but it was too late. Angel had an eyebrow raised in her direction now. She laughed knowingly and gave Annette a nudge to set her off on her path.

"Have fun with him. I won't tell anyone." Annette gave her friend a grateful look before she started walking. Angel was such an easy dog to talk to. It was no wonder why Scamp loved her.

Annette squeezed through the front gate, which was only slightly open. She took off at a fast trot once she was outside, happy to finally be on her way. She didn't make it around the corner of the white picket fence though, without running full force into a very familiar, squirming lump of brown and white fur.

"Mitch!" She breathed. She wiggled out from under the thin, long legged terrier, who was squirming on top of her for footing. "What are you doing here?"

The terrier whipped around to face Annette when he had found his footing. He was grinning like mad, but he ducked his head apologetically. Over the grin, he had a sheepish look on his face as he cut his eyes upwards to look at Annette.

"I wanted to see if you were really coming. I got here early, Ma'am." Annette relaxed a bit, but started walking, wanting to lead Mitch away from the house. He immediately fell into step beside her, watching her happily as they went along.

"You really came!" He exclaimed. "I was worried that you wouldn't want to be my friend once you started thinkin' about it." He admitted.

"Of course I came." She tsked. "And I brought something for you, too."

Mitch looked confused. He peeked over Annette's back and around her slowly, as though looking for the something.

"Err...what is it?" He finally said. Annette laughed, and steered her friend over to the neatly clipped hedge where the turkey was hidden. Mitch's eyes were wide as Annette pushed him. He appeared flustered and embarrassed. Annette wasn't fairing any better herself, her fur was growing hot at how close they were to each other.

"Here we are!" She blurted, eager for a distraction. Mitch's mouth fell open with shock. His nose was twitching like its own living thing. He nosed his way under the hedge and snuffled over the turkey loudly.

"This is for me?" He practically croaked. "All of this? Are you sure?" He looked over his shoulder at Annette. Astonishment was clear on his tan-patched face.

Annette nodded.  
"We had extra last night for dinner and I thought you might be hungry."

"Dang right I'm hungry!" Mitch said. He pulled the turkey out from under the hedge and dropped it at his feet. He didn't smile, but his eyes were wide. They landed on Annette.

"Thank you so much, Ma'am."

Annette smiled.

"Well, go on!" She urged him to eat the meal she had delivered him. She was anxious to see if he would like it.

Mitch gave another crooked grin and shook his head.

"I couldn't eat in front of you. Let's go to the blue house, we could share it." He carefully picked up the turkey and took off without an answer, expecting Annette to follow. Annette rolled her eyes to the sky and then darted after the dog.

Annette was sprawled out beside Mitch, full to bursting. Mitch was lying in the same position, with his head on his paws. His eyes were closed at the time. He sighed contentedly.

"Thank you, so much." He kept repeating. Annette had stopped replying to this, she just listened. He didn't seem to mind. She rested her own head on her paws and let out a squeaky yawn.

Mitch opened his eyes and watched Annette for a while.

"You don't seem very much like your sisters." He said, making Annette raise her head.

"What do you know about my sisters?" She demanded curiously.

"Uh..." Mitch avoided her eyes.

"You were spying on me!" She exclaimed. She wasn't angry with her friend, just shocked. She shook her head and scoffed when Mitch wasn't able to defend himself.

"Wait, I take it back." He said, pawing at one of her forelegs playfully. "You look just like them when you do that."

He had Annette's attention now.

"How am I not like them?" She said slowly, tilting her head. She'd never heard anyone tell her that she wasn't identical to her sisters before. Mitch studied her briefly.

"Your ears are shorter than theirs." He began. "You talk a little different. Your voice isn't so...uppity." He raised his paw to ruffle the fur on top of Annette's head. "You've got that little...fluff tuff going for you."

Annette ducked her head under his paw to eye him playfully.

"Okay, have you been watching me longer than a day? Cause if you have..."

Mitch dropped his paw down on top of her head.

"I swear I haven't! But your sisters haven't seen the last of me. I'm studying."

Annette shook her head and batted his paw off.

"Studying what?" She gave a high pitched growl when he put his paw back.

"You! I told you I want to know you better."

Annette shoved him, intending to remove his paw for good. He shoved her back, and dove in to plop both of his paws squarely onto her head once again.

Mitch's triumphant laugh was cut off sharply when Annette bowled him over. He gazed up at her from his back, obviously as shocked as she was by her actions. He got over it quickly though, and Annette found herself wiggling under his paws as he pushed her over in revenge. The two ended up rolling around in a scuffling, wiggling heap. Annette hadn't played like this since she was a puppy! She was enjoying every minute of it though.

Mitch squirmed away after a while and darted away, stopping a few feet from Annette. He bowed down in a playful catch-me-if-you-can pose, wiggling his rump teasingly. Annette was off in a flash, chasing her friend through the tall grass. The two were laughing and panting, and having the time of their lives.

Finally, they flopped down side by side in the cool grass, breathing hard. Mitch slapped a paw down on the ground.

"Truce!" He panted. "I call truce."

Annette covered his paw with her own and nodded.

When the two at last caught there breath, Annette laughed. Mitch perked his ears and gave her a quizzical look.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

Annette gazed down at her paw on top of Mitch's, then back at the confused dog.

"I don't think I've ever had this much fun away from my sisters before." She said softly.

Mitch angled his head.

"You don't get much time away from them, do you?" He mumbled.

Annette waited a while before replying.

"I've never really wanted to be away. Until now."

Mitch gave her a reassuring smile.

"That's alright, Ma'am. You are your own dog."

Annette dropped her gaze back down to their paws, feeling a little guilty for detatching herself from her sisters. Mitch nudged her cheek gently.

"Hey. It's alright. Don't feel bad."

Annette brought her gaze back up to Mitch's face. When she did, she found herself locked in an intense gaze that left her warm all over.

The two dogs remained like this for a long time before Mitch finally uttered a single, whispered word.

"Wow."

**Well that's chapter three. What's going on here! I hope you guys like my story. I really struggled with this chapter. Not because of a lack of words or ideas, but because, honestly, it is incredibly difficult to match personalities to Annette, Collette, and Danielle. They really weren't given much of a role in the movie besides prissy, stuck up sister, so I kinda have to improvise as best I can. Let me know how I'm doing, I'd love a review or two. Chapter four might be along today or tomorrow. :)**


	4. Ch 4 Park Picnic

**Chapter four! Sorry for anyone waiting that it took me a few days longer than I said. I've got two chapters today though, so I hope you guys are ready for some reading! I'm really enjoying writing this story. Oh- and, I want to give a special thanks to zgmfx1oa for the wonderful review I recently recieved. I swear, when I read it I did a little happy dance. I'm so glad that you like the stories! I'm working as hard as I can, and it is nice to see that my work is being appreciated. I do apologize for not having enough Scamp and Angel in this story! I was actually working a bit in about them when I read that review. It was very encouraging. Thanks again, and enjoy the story, everyone!**

"Come on, hurry up, let's go!"

Scamp was racing around the living room like a mad thing. Annette and Collette watched from the couch as Angel tackled him and pinned him to the ground, sternly but playfully demanding that he calm down.

"Face it, Angel. He's not going to be still!" Annette called out to her friend. Angel smirked at the challenge and Scamp's eyes grew wide with fear. Annette and Collette giggled.

It was only a few days ago that Annette had given Mitch the Thanksgiving turkey. She had visited him every afternoon since. Some days, he waited near the gate for her, and sometimes she met him down the sidewalk. Today would be different though. Tramp had told everyone to be ready to have an afternoon walk with the humans. Ever since then, Scamp had been wound up visibly, and Annette was wound up inside. She would be eager to enjoy the afternoon with her family, if she didn't know that her friend was patiently waiting for her somewhere outside.

Annette shook off the feeling and focused instead on Angel and Scamp wrestling together in a wiggling pile. Angel had the advantage of being incredibly clever, but Scamp was stronger than she was. The two evened each other out so perfectly that neither was winning.

"Settle down, kids." Tramp said as he limped into sight with his mate. His broken leg would prevent him from enjoying the walk with the rest of the dogs, but he didn't mind. Annette had a humorous thought that he would probably take that time to nap.

Angel and Scamp tumbled apart to greet Tramp.

"Hey pops, we aren't kids anymore!" Scamp said, rather kid-like in Annette's opinion. She could see a glint of amusement in his eye though.

"I know, Whirlwind, I know." He chuckled. The conversation was interrupted by the humans entrance into the room though. Jim was dressed in a dark tweed jacket, and he wore a new felt hat on top of his head. Darling wore a light pink dress, and she was carrying Junior in a blue sailor suit, a favorite of hers. In Jim's hand was a bundle of leashes.

Danielle was leashed in his other hand, which explained where she had been. Annette and Collette yipped happily in their high voices, running to Jim, who had bent down to get them ready for the walk.

Angel and Scamp trotted side by side behind the sisters, and Lady nuzzled Tramp goodbye before she fell into step behind them.

"Alright then." Jim stood after leashing all of the dogs , one by one. "Let's get going."

Annette fell into step alongside her sisters as Jim Dear and Darling exited the house. Out on the lawn sat Junior's carriage, where the group stopped so that Darling could place the baby in it. Junior waved his fat little arms and laughed.

"Outside! Outside!" He cried happily. He was ready for a walk too. While Darling secured her son, Jim Dear began tying the leashes to the handle of the carriage. Annette, Collette, and Danielle sat down patiently and watched the humans actions. Annette had personally always found the creatures to be fascinating. Junior giggled and tried to peer over his mother's arm at Scamp, who was licking his toes.

"Scamp! Stop you bad dog!" He said. Scamp sat down innocently and pretended like he'd not touched the baby. Angel scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Lady was distracted from the antics, gazing off into the distance at a flock of crows that had landed in the yard. She sighed, causing Annette to glance over. Annette thought that she almost sounded wishful. She'd caught her mother before in the past chasing birds like a pup when she thought she was alone.

Darling was now finished settling Junior into the little carriage. Everyone stood up and made their way down the drive, where Jim Dear pushed the gate open. Annette couldn't help but take a quick peek around to see if Mitch was nearby. She didn't want him to think that she just wasn't coming. Much to her dissapointment though, he was nowhere in sight.

She shrugged off the feeling and mirrored her sisters, who were trotting along with their heads held high. She smiled and tossed her head. This wasn't going to be so bad! Annette was enjoying herself. The afternoon sun was surprisingly warm for this time of year, and the blue sky was bright and clear. Also, despite the differences she had with her sisters, Annette did like to show off sometimes.

The group took their time walking down the street. Both the humans and canines nodded from time to time at passerbys, greeting friends and strangers alike in a friendly manner. They were strolling down the same sidewalk now that Mitch and Annette had encountered the butcher on.

And speak of the devil...Annette spotted the big man before he saw her. He was red faced and grinning, offering a deal on lamb chops to those that passed by him. Annette's stomach dropped when he stopped Jim Dear and Darling.

"Ya, I got a two fer one on lamb, today only!" He gruffed.

"Oh?" Jim Dear put a hand on his chin. "And what's your price?"

The man took a heavy breath, but didn't answer Jim. His thick eyebrows went down a good inch on his sweaty, greasy forehead. He shook his finger directly at Annette and her sisters.

"You!" He snapped.

The jolly, friendly face he'd been wearing moments ago was gone. The spaniels crouched down under the big man's foreboding stare. He went on, loud and suddenly angry.

"One o' those dogs has been rummagin' in my garbage!" He took a heavy step forward.

"What?" Collette gasped in shock.

Annette heard Lady growl beside her, but kept her terrifed gaze on the butcher.

"Beg pardon?" Jim said, sounding puzzled and a little put off by the accusation.

The butcher shook his finger again, passing it over Danielle, Collette, and finally landing on Annette.

"That blue collar'd pup. I know him. He's been stealin' from me! Him and his likkle friend, ya!" The man's cheeks were reddening from the force of his words. Annette felt a surge of indignace simply at the man calling her a 'he'.

"Beg pardon?" Jim repeated. He was in a state of disbelief. Annette knew that the angry man was telling the truth, but to anyone else he must have sounded absolutely mad. There was a long, awkward pause after the man's rant. Darling put her hand on Jim's arm, a gesture of fear. Junior remained quiet as well.

"I think there's been some mistake, my good fellow." Jim Dear said tensely. He was obviously trying to remain cool under the circumstances. Annette looked up at her master hopefully. Maybe he could sort this all out. The bigger man gave a short grunt.

"I tell ya, that dog has been stealin from my bins. That dog needs to be impounded. He's a thief!" He jabbed a fat finger at Jim's chest, making the man step back.

"Good heavens!" Darling exclaimed, sweeping Junior's carriage, and the dogs with it, out of the way. Annette, Collette, and Danielle stumbled under the speed that the carriage moved, and Scamp fell on Angel, making them both trip to the ground. Only Lady was surefooted enough to keep her balance. She practically flowed with the leash. She was angry though, and growling long and low at the furious butcher.

Jim Dear swatted the man's hand away. He wasn't quite as calm as before.

"Sir, I ask that you do not lay hands on me again." He snapped behind gritted teeth. After a short pause, he spoke again. "I take my leave now." He sharply straightened his jacket with both hands, yanking on it a little harder than neccesary in his anger. He whipped around, hooked his arm into his wife's, and began to walk away. The big man wasn't done yet, though.

"If I ever see tha' dog again, you'll be sorry!" He yelled after Jim Dear."Any of your dogs!" Annette, who had gotten to her feet with the rest of her siblings, saw his eye twitch a bit, but he kept walking. When the family had retreated far enough away from the man that he couldn't hear them, everyone started talking at once.

Jim Dear and Darling looked at each other.

"I was ready to phone the police." Darling whispered.

"I had it handled, Darling." Jim assured her. "Annette, our Annette, stealing from trash bins?" He scoffed. Annette's fur went hot. It was true, she hadn't stolen a thing, but she was a bit of an accomplice.

Collette and Danielle were chattering wildly back and forth.

"Did you see that?" Collette said in a hushed tone.

"Yeah! Jim Dear almost got beat up." Danielle said excitedly.

"I know, that man was crazy!"

"Beat Jim up? Nah." Scamp chimed in, peering over Angel's shoulder, where she had fallen into step beside the sisters.

Angel spoke up next, sounding much calmer and wiser than her friends.

"I think it's more important to note why he wanted to hurt Jim. He was angry with Annette, or someone a lot like her. In looks at least." She shot a questioning look at Annette before everyone else's heads turned in her direction.

"Hey Annette, I really can't see you digging through the garbage." Scamp said. Collette and Danielle nodded. Angel's eyebrows shot up, as if to warn Annette that she was going to question her friend later. Annette was saved from having to answer when Junior squealed happily in his carriage.

"Parky park! Play!"

"Go get it!" Jim Dear huffed as he threw Scamp's favorite blue ball across the wide open park. Annette and her sisters watched as the gray dog dashed after it as fast as his legs could carry him. Angel was on his heels, ready to wrestle it away from him if he caught it first.

Annette was sitting on a blanket with Collette and Danielle, who was lying comfortably in Darling's lap. Junior was toddling around nearby, squating clumsily every once in a while to investigate a bug or leaf in the grass.

Scamp reached the ball and dove for it dramatically. Angel made a grab for him, but he slipped out of her paws and tore across the grass in Jim's direction. The man leaned down and stretched out a hand to retrieve the ball, but Scamp changed his mind at the last second. He tossed his head back and ran to the triplets instead.

When he reached them, he dropped his ball and let his tongue hang out briefly.

"Wanna play? I-UMPH!" Angel had caught him. He groaned and let himself go limp on his belly. Angel sat down on his side and smiled at the sisters, who were all laughing now.

Scamp mumbled something too quietly to hear. Everyone, including Angel, looked at him.

"Come again?" Collete questioned.

He mumbled again.

"What!" Collette said loudly.

Annette heard him though. She sprang up quick as lightning, grabbed the ball, and ran. Scamp had been telling someone, anyone, to grab the ball. Annette heard Angel throw herself, kicking Scamp along the way, off of his back. The golden dog was after Annette.

"You _are_ a thief!" She called out playfully. Annette threw a quick glance over her shoulder. Danielle was bounding behind Angel, laughing like she'd lost her mind. Collette, on the other hand, was still sitting on the blanket. She didn't want to join in. Oh well.

Annette crouched playfully, grinning around the ball. She was feeling playful. In the past few days that she'd spent with Mitch, she'd come to realize what fun really was. It was running and chasing and laughing out loud with your friends. It was contagious. She already had Danielle in on it, just by grabbing the ball.

Angel was coming on her fast. Annette waited until the fluffy little dog was almost there...and then she took off again. She didn't make it far though. She lost her footing and landed on her chin in the grass. The ball popped out of her mouth and rocketed away. Angel reached Annette and leaped over her nimbly, and stole the ball. She held her head high and danced around Annette with it.

Annette sat up, panting hard.

"You win..." She breathed. "I give up."

Angel dropped the ball and smirked.

"You stole it first. We'll call it a tie." She cocked her head to the side. "I've never seen you play before."

Annette smiled back at her friend, as Scamp and Danielle caught up to them.

"It's a lot of fun." She said softly. It was the truth. She was enjoying herself more lately than she had in a long time. She could feel herself changing. She turned to look at her brother and sister, who were both wearing amused and happy grins. She wasn't the only one having a blast.

Danielle sat down with a big huff. Her eyes were wide and sparkling.

"Annette, you were so _fast_!" She enthused. "Angel almost didn't catch you!"

Angel rolled her grey-blue eyes.

"Almost."

Scamp butted his best friend's shoulder with his head.

"You're too fast for _anyone_ to catch."

Angel let out a little chuckle.

"You caught me, didn't you?"

Danielle made a face and snorted.

"Go get a doghouse!"

Scamp ran his forehead over Angel's shoulder and stuck his tongue out at Danielle.

"Maybe we will." He said, wagging his stumpy tail. It was all in good fun.

"Come here! Here pooches." Jim Dear suddenly called. All heads whipped around to where Jim Dear had a hand cupped over his mouth, yelling for the dogs. He was standing beside Darling's blanket, and she was unpacking a basket of food that had been carefully stowed away in Junior's carriage before leaving the house. Junior sat beside her, bouncing up and down on his little rump, anticipating a tasty lunch. Collette and Lady were sitting together behind the baby, patiently waiting to see if anything was packed for them.

"Oh good, I'm starving." Scamp ran a pink tongue around his whiskered mouth.

All five of the dogs took off together in a run. They stopped obediently in front of Jim Dear, who counted heads.

"Alright, everyone is here, Darling." He said.

Darling smiled her sweet smile and set down a plate of leftover turkey she'd been preparing at the time, the last from Thanksgiving. Annette felt her mouth begin to water. Junior squealed and thrust his hand towards the dogs' lunch. Darling grabbed his little wrist in the nick of time. He looked at her guiltily, but forgot in the same moment that she filed his empty hand with a sandwich.

Jim Dear sat down with his family as the dogs gathered around to eat.

"Say Darling, is there anything for me in that magic basket?" He said hopefully. Darling, quiet and thoughtful as ever, simply handed her husband a sandwich of his own.

"Oh mercy, I don't know what I'd do without you." He teased.

Annette looked up from her meal at the humans. Even these creatures loved each other unconditionally. It made her feel nice to see her masters happy and content. Especially after what had happened recently with the baby being kidnapped. The cocker mix shuddered so hard that one of her brown ears brushed through the gravy, making a slimy mess in her fur. She wrinkled her nose and backed away from the rest of the dogs.

"Ugh. Excuse me." She told the family.

Lady lifted her head to look at her daughter. "You are excused." She said politely, then resumed eating.

Collette noticed the delimma and backed up as well.

"Oh, Annette, that's...disgusting. I'll help you. Go to the lake." Annette nodded slightly, trying not to get gravy anywhere else on her fur. While her sister excused herself, she began making her way downhill to the water.


	5. Ch 5 Warmth

"Hold still." Collette was demanding.

"I would if you weren't pulling my fur out." Annette whined.

"I'm almost done. Be still."

Collette was standing paw deep in the water on the edge of the lake. Annette was lying near the lake's edge with her ear dipped in the water. Collette was pawing at her sister's fur, trying to rinse the gravy out. Annette surpressed a sigh. Collette was making far too big of a hassle out of the incident. Finally, after Annette was sure that she was going to lose her ear to her sister, Collette stepped back.

"Done. No more gravy." She said triumphantly. Annette let go of her sigh.

"Oh thank goodness." She stood up and shook her head. Her ear was waterlogged and heavy. She shook again.

"Did we have to put my whole-"

Collette interrupted her sister with a big squeaky gasp. Annette clipped her mouth shut. Collette was gesturing to Annette with her eyes. Annette watched her for a while, tilting her head a few times, but couldn't decipher her identical sister's message. Collette's eyes widened at something over Annette's shoulder, causing Annette to turn around. Her heart plummeted when she saw a familiar brown and white terrier sitting a few yards away.

Mitch was lapping at the water when Annette laid eyes on him. Annette would have thought he hadn't noticed her and Collette, except for a single flicker of his eye in their direction. Annette almost didn't see it. She didn't know whether to curse her friend or be happy to see him. She settled on a mixture of both.

After what seemed like forever, Mitch finally raised his head to the girls. His muzzle was dripping and his ears were perked. He gave no indication that he was on friendly terms with Annette. His eyes passed over her as if he didn't even know her. Collette giggled in Annette's ear. She stole a glance in her sister's direction, and nearly felt sick.

She was in a full on flirt with Mitch. She batted her eyes and smiled at the lanky terrier. Annette was seething inside. Why was she seething? What did she have to seethe about? She couldn't help it. She continued to seethe.

Mitch started in their direction. His eyes were sparkling curiously. Annette tried to blink away the desire to look too long into his eyes. She did that enough at the blue house. She loved watching his eyes...no! Annette blinked hard again. He was here now.

"Hello." He said in a friendly way. He looked at Collette, then at Annette. His gaze lingered on her briefly, but he seemed to catch himself as Annette had.

Collette took a little step forward and wiggled her tail quickly.

"Why hello!" She gushed. "It's a lovely day, isn't it?"

Mitch gave a tiny, crooked smile.

"I suppose it is." He said. "What brings you ladies to the park?"

Annette wanted to answer, but Collette beat her to it.

"We're having a picnic with our family. I'm Collette. This is my sister." She tossed her head in Annette's direction. Annette felt a surge of jealousy. Did she not even have a name now?

The gesture didn't pass over Mitch unnoticed. His eyes flashed for a moment and he turned his full attention on Annette.

"And what is your name, Ma'am?" He said cooly. Annette couldn't hold back a little smile. He was still the same Mitch, even if he was pretending like he didn't know her. She didn't mind the act. It was Collette that was making it difficult. She tried to pass the smile off as simply being friendly.

"My name is Annette." She replied, trying to sound as indifferent as possible.

"Well, now, Ma'am. That is a lovely name."

Collette had had enough, it seemed. She was nudging her sister out of the way in an attempt to regain Mitch's attention. Annette braced herself, trying not to trip as she was moved. Mitch's eyebrows went up slightly.

Annette gritted her teeth and shot Mitch an apologetic and embarrassed look.

"Forgive my sister." She mumbled around her teeth. "She isn't normally like this."

Mitch nodded politely.

"Well now, I think I'll leave you ladies to get back to your family." Collette gave Mitch another flirty grin. Much to Annette's relief and amusement, he didn't return the favor. Collette didn't seem to care though. She continued her desperate attempts until he had his back turned to her to walk away. When the patchy dog was gone, Collette whipped around to face Annette.

"Did you see him?" She bubbled. "_Did you see that dog_?" Her tail was wagging excitedly. Annette had to take a few steps back as her sister talked. The pair would have otherwise been nose to nose.

Annette lowered her eyes.

"Yeah, what about him?" She mumbled.

"He was...so. That was a very handsome dog." Collette sighed dreamily. "I think he was flirting with me. Did you seem him flirting with me? He smiled! I wonder what his name is...he didn't say his name." Annette bit her tongue. She tried to drown out Collette's rambling about Mitch's perfect ears. When she realized that this was impossible, she simply stood up and made her way back uphill to the picnic. Collette chattered on behind her.

When the two made it uphill, Annette instantly realized that something was wrong. Even Collette stopped talking. Jim Dear and Darling weren't sitting on the blanket anymore. Darling was holding Junior tight against her, and Jim Dear had one hand on his son's back. Danielle, Lady, Scamp and Angel were huddled close together around the humans' legs. Everyone was staring at something across the park. Annette followed their collective gaze. She almost wished she hadn't.

Standing stiffly in the middle of the park was a massive white dog. Annette had never seen this monster personally, but she had heard enough about him to recognize him anywhere. The black patch covering one side of his face was enough to determine that this was Harley. He was the one who followed Buster like a puppy. He was the one who had nearly killed Junior. He was the reason at least one grown man was scarred for life.

Annette was relieved to note that the beast of a dog wasn't paying any attention to her family. Jim Dear and Darling were backing away, trying to distance themselves from the bloodthirsty dog.

Annette's relief faded away in the blink of an eye when she saw what the big white dog had his attention on. It was Mitch, who was caught like a stunned rabbit under Harley's stare. Annette wanted to yell for her friend to run, but she knew that it wouldn't help a thing. She could only just stand and watch. Collette had finally noticed too. Annette heard her whimper once.

Annette couldn't take her eyes off of Mitch. He was trying his best to put on a brave face. The terrier's ears were uncharacteristically pinned back flat against his skull. He stood straight, showing Harley that he was not afraid. The bigger dog didn't break his unblinking stare. Mitch took one shaky step backwards, then another, and another. His eyes never left Harley as he retreated, slowly, stiffly, and surely. The monster moved nothing but his head, ever so slightly, to watch Mitch leave. When the terrier had finally made it far enough away that he couldn't be harmed, Harley lost interest. He turned his head sharply in another direction and smoothly made his way out of the park. Annette let out the breath that she had been holding. Everyone seemed to melt from their frozen positions at once. They were safe.

It was cold that night. Everyone was huddled by a roaring fireplace, trying to stay warm. Lady was quietly talking to Tramp about the days events. His brow was furrowed thoughtfully. Collette was going on about Mitch again, giving Danielle an inflated retelling of the meeting. In her version, Mitch had been the flirty one. Danielle was watching her sister in rapture while she talked. Angel and Scamp were, for once, sleeping. They were curled into each other, a mix of gray and gold fur, lit by the light of the fire.

Jim Dear was telling Darling that he had informed the police of the wherabouts of the killer dog. He said that they would be out first thing in the morning searching for him.

Annette wondered why the vicious dog hadn't attacked Mitch. He was known to kill anything smaller than he was for food, even other dogs. Annette felt a chill travel down her spine. She hoped that Mitch was alright tonight. What if Harley decided to hunt him down? And even if he didn't, she was concerned for Mitch. There was frost on the ground tonight. Would he be warm enough at the blue house? Annette rested her chin on her paws. Her head was in a whirl of thoughts and worries.

Annette crept through the kitchen as silently as she could. Her plans would be ruined if anyone woke up and caught her. Hard as she'd tried, she couldn't bring herself to sleep without checking on Mitch. Annette eased the dog door, cringing openly when it squeaked a little. She slipped out into the bitingly cold air and shivered. After making it through the door, Annette turned to hold it still with her nose. If she had let it go, it would have kept flapping back and forth, probably making more sounds.

When she was sure that the door wouldn't wake anyone, Annette bolted. She leaped from the porch steps in a single bound and ran across the frosty yard. Ice crackled under her paws as she went. She pushed the gate open and squeezed out. Once she was free, she didn't stop until she had reached the street with the windowshops. She slowed to a fast trot then, with her panting breath came in great clouds of mist in front of her muzzle. She sniffed out the butcher's shop and decided to cross the road there. It would be the fastest way to the old neighborhood.

Annette squinted cautiously, left and right down the dark road. She hesitated briefly, then bolted. Her paws skidded and slipped on the ice slicked road as she ran. When she reached safety she was frightened, cold, and ready to kiss the ground. But she had to keep going. She had to be sure that Mitch was alright.

Annette limped into the run down neighborhood, which loomed in front of her like a dark nightmare. The ice was cracking the pads of her paws and she was shivering badly now. She had never been outside at night before, let alone one as cold as this. A sharp wind cut through her soft fur like a knife, making her hunch her back against it. Her coat wasn't prepared for such weather anymore than she was.

Finally, when she was almost sure she had lost her way in the shadowy maze of houses and sidestreets, she found the old blue house. The sight of it put a bit of life into her aching step. Annette pushed her way through the tall grass, getting wetter and colder by the minute.

"M-mitch?" She called out for her friend. "Mitch!" Her spirits fell when he didn't answer her. Was he even here tonight? Perhaps he had found somewhere warmer to stay.

The sound of creaking wood and metal made Annette jump. She whirled around and relaxed instantly when she saw Mitch standing in the rotting doorway of the old house. He had found his way inside.

"Ma'am?" Mitch said in astonishment. "Is everything okay?" He sounded worried. He left the house and darted down the porch steps, running to press himself against Annette's side. He was shivering himself.

"Come inside." He demanded. "Tell me what you're doing here."

Mitch guided Annette into the house, where he pawed at the splintering wood of the door until it slammed shut. There was nothing to hold it into place, Annette noted, so it could be pushed and pulled open at will. She let her gaze travel around the house. It was empty of all human furnishings. The floors were bare wood, the walls were split and spilling their wiring and insulations, and there was a foreboding dark stain on the bulging ceiling. It was still slightly warmer than outside though.

Mitch was circling Annette, nudging her with his nose.

"Are you alright?" He kept repeating. Annette finally found her voice through her shivers.

"I-I wanted t-t-to make sure you were o-okay." She stuttered. "Its cold."

Mitch snorted and pushed Annette across the room and through another doorway. She stumbled along without another word, there was no energy in her to protest.

Past the doorway, the place looked like a small, enclosed kitchen. That is to say, if a kitchen had nothing in it but cracked tiles and a single cabinet lying in the middle of the floor. The cabinet was missing one of its double doors. A tattered purple blanket spilled out of the open space.

"Get in there." Mitch said quietly. "You need to get warm." He nudged Annette again. She balked.

"I'm n-not getting warm until you do." She said, surprising herself with her own stubborness. She was practically echoing her friend's own selfless words.

Mitch sighed heavily, then smiled at Annette.

"You came to keep me warm." He said, sounding rather pleased with the situation. "But here you are, colder than me!"

Annette didn't reply, she simply gave the terrier a little shove.

"Alright, alright. Come on then." Mitch's voice shook a bit. Annette couldn't tell if it was shivers or laughter. She dismissed the idea that he sounded nervous.

The two settled down in the cabinet together, letting their sides press together for warmth. Annette's shivering gradually died down, as Mitch's had not long before.

"You did come to keep me warm." Mitch said suddenly, after the pair had gotten comfortable. He had a teasing look on his face, and a smug grin.

Annette made a face, teasing him back.

"I couldn't leave you to become a pupsicle."

Mitch was quiet when he spoke.

"You know, you really aren't much like your sisters. Or at least that one."

Mitch felt Annette tense and launched himself into an apology, thinking he had offended his friend.

"I'm sorry Ma'am. It isn't a bad thing, I didn't mean it bad, I swear it." Annette turned to look into his eyes, hushing him. They were glistening worriedly. She decided then to tell him why the subject bothered her. She prayed he would understand.

"Collette likes you."

"No! Really? I hadn't noticed." He laughed.

His silly sarcasm made Annette laugh herself. Her mood was lightened in an instant.

"She keeps telling Danielle that you were flirting with her."

"That little...turdsniffer." Mitch gasped dramatically. "I do not flirt with strangers."

Annette found herself giggling uncontrollably. She had never heard her sister labeled in such a way before. It was appropriate.

Mitch watched Annette laugh for a while.

"Are you laughing at the word turdsniffer?" He said calmly. The question sent Annette into another fit. She couldn't help herself. She laughed until her sides hurt and tears wet her face. When she finally managed to stop, she was panting for breath.

"Annette." Mitch said, so quietly that Annette almost couldn't hear him. Hearing her name surprised her. She didn't hear it often from Mitch. The fluffy feeling in Annette's chest made her decide instantly that she liked it.

She looked at Mitch, who wasn't smiling anymore, though his eyes were shining. Annette was lost in that look again. The cabinet seemed to be getting awfully warm.

He broke the gaze to nudge Annette's cheek with his nose.

"Your sister's gonna be a sad puppy." He whispered. Annette's heart flew, and she found herself hoping with everything she had that he meant what she was thinking.

She closed her eyes and shivered a bit, though she wasn't cold. When her eyes closed, she felt Mitch's muzzle brush against hers softly. Both of the young dogs took to wiggling closer to each other like little puppies, trying to get as close as possible. Annette pushed her head under Mitch's chin. He hid his face in the fur on the back of her neck and let out a small, shaky laugh.

"One very sad puppy."


	6. Ch 6 Caught

Immense joy crept over Annette like a warm blanket. She wiggled and whined and snuggled closer to Mitch, nuzzling under his chin happily. Mitch was in no better state himself. He was quietly laughing, nudging Annette's neck and shoulders. Annette grinned and crawled over his forelegs, squirming around until she was on her back, ears flopped out on either side, batting Mitch's face with a paw. He slid one paw away from Annette's back and wrapped it around her middle.

"I've got you now." He said with a toothy grin. Annette could feel her little tail wagging fast.

"You've got me." Annette muttered softly. She felt as though she could fly away any second. That is, if Mitch's paw wasn't draped over her belly. A fleeting thought crossed her mind, one that made her head tilt.

"Mitch?" She started. "Why were you in the park this afternoon?"

Mitch nuzzled Annette's paw and dropped his eyes.

"I wanted to see you. Since you couldn't come visit me." His face brightened a second later. "Serves me right. I nearly got attacked out there."

Annette shuddered.

"That Harley is such a creep." She said.

Mitch's smile dropped.

"Oh. I was kind of talkin' about your sister. She ent' good company." Mitch's reply made Annette laugh again. As much as she loved Collette, she was thankful that Mitch had no interest in her, now more than ever.

"But Harley is bad too. Real badk. He's got thugs." Mitch continued. This shocked Annette. One Harley was bad enough, but multiple monsters wreaking havoc made the once quiet town would make the town a living nightmare. She wondered if they were willing to devour children like Harley was.

Mitch buried his face in Annette's belly and kept talking. His voice was muffled, but Annette could hear the fear in it.

"They bully you into joining their gang. They kidnap pups. If you leave 'em, you're dead. If you stay, you're good as gone." The patchy dog's words left Annette reeling. She'd seen the way Harley had looked at Mitch. What if he was next? She could hardly bear to even think of it.

Mitch seemed to instantly understand. He tightened his grip on Annette's middle and held her close. The two lay like that for a long time. It relaxed Annette so greatly that she eventually fell asleep, lying belly up under Mitch's surprisingly strong grip. He held onto her tightly that night, even in sleep. If anyone had been spying on them, they would have thought the pair spent every night together like this, for the relaxed and peaceful expressions on their faces. There was no need to squirm around or turn over to find comfort. The way they fit together as they slept seemed as though they were made for each other.

"Annette." Mitch was whispering. He nudged Annette's stomach and shook her with his paws until she stirred. She forced her eyes open to see what he wanted.

"Mmmhmm?" The cocker mix slurred. She blinked sleep from her eyes and gave a little yawn, pink tongue curling.

Mitch poked her in the ribs.

"It's almost dawn." He said nervously. Annette was awake in an instant. She'd been out all night. If anyone woke up and found her gone...she dreaded having to explain her absence.

Suddenly, the muffled, cold quiet of the house was broken with the echoing creak of a door. Both dogs were instantly launched into high alert. Mitch glanced at Annette while she rolled over and off of his legs. They stood up, but remained clustered close to each other. Mitch positioned himself protectively in front of the slightly shorter dog. She could hear voices now. Her ears perked high and then swept back against her head when she identified her father. The other 'voices' were his own echoing, he was talking to himself. He must have tracked her scent. Annette heard her name.

"That's my dad." Annette hissed nervously. Despite the Tramp being such an understanding dog, Annette knew that he would be unhappy with her sneaking out, especially in such an icy night, and with a dog he didn't know. She faintly regretted not letting someone at least _meet_ Mitch. She should have told them that she was going out for the night. A dozen late possibilites crossed her mind in that instant.

Annette ducked around Mitch and crept silently out of the fallen cabinet. Mitch hesitantly followed behind her, looking as though he rather chew hot nails than meet Annette's father.

The pair tiptoed together alongside the crumbling kitchen wall until they reached the doorway. Annette didn't dare take a peek around the rotting frame, but she could hear her father's heavily limping step in the front room. She flinched inwardly with every thump. Had he walked all this way on a bad leg to find her?

The limping stopped. There was a dense pause, and then Tramp's voice rang out calmy.

"Alright, you two. Come on out. Let's see what's going on here." Annette inched around the doorway to meet him. She felt like belly crawling. Mitch was dragging along behind her with his short tail tucked away as far as it would go. Tramp didn't sound very angry. That was the infuriatingly scary part about him, it was hard to tell when he was mad. Annette reached her father's paws and dragged her eyes up to his face.

He was watching Annette quietly now. She wagged her tail in a tentative greeting and gave a smile. He remained quiet, only cutting his eyes over to Mitch, who stopped, stiff legged and terrified. The terrier's ears flattened in a flash.

Tramp's eyes were back on Annette. She couldn't bear to meet his gaze. The tall grey dog sighed and hunched his shoulders, lowering his head to his daughter's level.

"No more secrets. Okay?" He said gently. His soft tone made Annette turn her eyes to him. He wasn't angry with her. He was just worried. Annette could see it etched in the features of his slowly aging face. She tried to count how old he might be now and decided to stop at four. She didn't want him to grow old on her. In response to his question, she nodded.

Tramp gave her a quick and loving lick on the cheek, as if reminding her that she was his daughter and that he loved her. When he turned his gaze once again back to Mitch, Annette did as well. She turned around and made her way back to Mitch, who was frozen a considerable distance away.

Almost instictively, Mitch moved closer to Annette. He caught himself a moment too late, and gave the Tramp a fearful look. Annette couldn't determine if he was simply afraid of Tramp, or the fact that he was her father.

"May I meet your friend?" He said.

Annette boldly nudged Mitch's chin up with her nose to push her head underneath it while she introduced him to her father. Mitch's mouth, which had opened seconds before, snapped shut with an audible click.

"This is Mitch." Annette said to the Tramp. Mitch was quiet. Annette looked at her father, who ducked his head in way of greeting.

"It's nice to finally meet you, boy." He flashed a stern look at Mitch though as he spoke. "I don't want your first impression of ol' dad to be a bad one, but maybe you could keep Annette inside at night, now?"

"Yessir."

Mitch nodded, taking the blame for Annette's sneaking out. Annette wouldn't have it though. She scoffed at her father's words and protested stubbornly.

"I was the one that wanted to come here, Dad." She told him. "I just needed to check on some things and we fell asleep."

Tramp sighed heavily.

"Even so, we should get you home before everyone starts to worry. You gave your sisters a nasty scare."

_Already? _A mix of emotions went through Annette. She wanted to keep herself and Mitch out of trouble, but she was also hoping that her father would talk to Mitch for a while. She wanted him to be liked.

"You really do need to get home." Mitch muttered quietly. Annette threw him a short, regretful look. She didn't want to leave yet. But he was right, her family and her father were waiting for her.

"I'll be outside." Tramp said politely, while he turned around slowly to limp out.

When he was gone, Mitch and Annette gave each other a long nuzzle. Mitch kissed Annette's forehead, making her blush. Had all of this really happened in one night?

"Okay. You go now." Mitch said after a moment. "I'm sorry if I got you in trouble, Ma'am."

Annette shook her head, causing her silky ears to sway.

"No, it's okay. Will I see you this afternoon?"

Mitch's mouth spread into one of his crooked smiles.

"Ent' nothin' gonna stop that from happening."

Annette limped along the icy sidewalk behind her father. Both of them were terribly sore in the paws. Annette felt terrible as she watched her father hobble along on his broken leg. Having to walk on split pads was one thing, but traveling all this way on a splinted leg was unthinkable. He should have never come.

"We've all been wondering about you sneaking off lately." Tramp said, trying to strike up a conversation. He slowed his walk a little to match Annette's speed. She leaned on her father, supporting him as they went along.

"I'm sorry, Dad." Annette croaked. "I was visiting my friend. I should have told you all." She left out the fact that she was afraid of her sisters finding out.

"Seemed more than a friend to me."

Annette blushed hot under her fur.

"Maybe." She squeaked.

"I hope you two were behaving yourselves in there." Tramp said suddenly, looking at his daughter, who's mouth had fallen open.

"Daaad!" She whined, embarrassed beyond belief.

Tramp snorted and left the subject alone. It seemed he was afraid of a real answer. Instead, he switched to a different, equally uncomfortable topic.

"Your sisters have missed you lately. They think you've changed." Annette lowered her head and sighed.

_I have changed._

"I just like doing my own thing sometimes." She muttered. When the bigger dog didn't respond, she went on. "I like having baths and combing my fur, and talking to Danielle and Collette, but I want more than that with my life." Even as she said it, she was admitting this to herself as well as the Tramp. Annette could feel herself mentally branching away from the narrow path that she had traveled for so long with her sisters. She was her own dog. She repeated in her head the phrase that Mitch had used to describe her.

_I am my own dog._

The sun was rising in a pink haze when Tramp and Annette arrived home. Annette knew before seeing anyone that the family was awake already. The moment she entered the house through the creaky dog door, she heard her sisters yapping and barking, letting the world know that Annette was back from her escapade. She surpressed a groan.

Collette bounded into the room with Danielle in tow. Scamp and Angel also entered the kitchen, but simply settled into their breakfast with only a few curious looks.

"Annette! What on earth have you been doing?" Collette slowed to a stop in front of her sister. Danielle wiggled and squirmed underneath Collette, popping up inbetween her sister's front legs.

"You were outside in the cold?" The slower of the sisters had wide, astonished eyes. Annette tried to divert her siblings' attention.

"I am _so_ hungry. What's for breakfast?" Annette said, limping quickly over to the row of dog bowls to sniff at their contents.

"Annette has a boyfriend." Tramp said quickly, and then scooted from the room as quickly as his stiff leg would allow. Annette, who had lowered her head to one of the bowls, cringed visibly.

Three..

two..

one.

_"WHAT!" _Collette yelped.

"Boyfriend?!" Danielle woofed.

"Haha! I knew it!" Scamp snickered.

Angel was the only one who didn't comment. She already knew, of course. Shock didn't register on her face. Her gray eyes met Annette's and she rolled them dramatically. Annette cringed when Danielle's front paws landed on her back. The weight hurt her feet.

"We should have story time now!" The deep voiced dog blurted excitedly.

"What's his name? What's he look like? Was Dad kidding?" Collette spewed.

"Um...no, he wasn't kidding." Annette admitted.

This only sent her siblings into a squealing fit. She had no idea what to tell them. Heaven forbid that Collette find out that she was involved with Mitch. Finally, Angel intervened. She was polite, but stern.

"Hey girls. Come on now, break it up. Annette is tired. Didn't you guys see her limping? Ice can really mess up your feet. I would know." The last bit was a reference to Angel's past on the streets.

Annette shot her friend a grateful look. Collette and Danielle said nothing more, they simply pulled back and pouted. Annette almost smiled in her amusement. Angel had a power of authority when she spoke.

"You'll tell us everything later though, right?"

"I wanna meet the guy!" Danielle up and down underneath Collette, making her sister's paws lift from the ground every once in a while.

Angel shot the two another warning glare when they started to launch into another chattering fit. Scamp was behind her, munching on the contents of his bowl and looking for all the world as if he was watching a very entertaining show.

Annette excused herself as quickly as she could. Angel fended the wolves off while she left. After making her way into the front room, Annette scooted under one of the big, comfortable looking sofas and curled up in a tight ball. After a short while, a pair of small golden paws appeared outside of the sofa. It was Angel. She lay down flat and peeked under the sofa at her friend.

"Grant me entry, secretive one." She said, reaching out to her friend in a tentative, hopeful way.

"Come on in." Annette replied, forcing a smile.

Angel wiggled her way under the sofa with Annette. She stopped in front front of the 'secretive one' with her paws splayed out in all directions.

"Thanks for helping me out back there." Annette said gratefully. Angel shrugged.

"They need to respect your privacy a little more." She smirked. "Or they could have me ask you questions. You'd spill everything then, wouldn't you?"

Annette gasped.

"They didn't."

"Oh they did. They bribed me with bacon. "_Bacon! _Do they even have bacon?"

Both dogs laughed a little. Once again, Annette didn't really mind talking to Angel. She was pleasant and funny, if a little sarcastic at times. The pair let their laughter die down.

"I really am curious. And I'm not saying that for your sisters." Angel said. Her ears were perked quizzically at Annette, who wrinkled her nose.

"You're as nosy as anybody!" She snapped, though she didn't mean it. Angel faked a pout.

Annette sighed and began to tell her everything she wanted to know. Angel listened quietly, only interrupting a few times with simple questions, like asking how she and Mitch had found their way into the blue house.

Annette left out a lot of details, mostly about her night with Mitch. She watched Angel while she talked. When she began telling Angel what Mitch had said about Harley and the gang of strays, a change came over the fluffy dog. She was stone faced, and scared.

Angel shook her head slowly when Annette finished. The fur along her spine was raised. The tale had frightened her worse than Annette had expected.

"I have a bad feeling about that." The pomeranian-mix said. "I wonder if you could get Mitch here, somehow. It's not safe out there."

Annette blurted out a fast 'no'. Angel tilted her head in questioning. Annette sighed deeply.

"Collette met Mitch in the park and decided that she's in love with him. She says he's the most handsome dog alive. She was all over him." Annette couldn't keep the jealousy out of her voice.

Angel didn't have time to respond to this. There was a muffled gasp on the other side of the couch. Annette closed her eyes with dread and crawled out of hiding with Angel.

"You lied to me." Collette said bitterly. Annette felt her heart breaking at the sound. How was she to know that her sister had been eavesdropping? She took a step towards Collette, ready to explain herself, but Collette was already retreating. Annette could do nothing but watch. Even Angel's smooth talk couldn't fix this. Tears sprang up in her sister's eyes. And then she was gone, running from Annette like she'd been burned.

Annette felt like her shoulders were suddenly weighted down. She hung her head in shame. Angel nudged Annette with a paw.

"Annette, come on. She's overreacting. It's just shock. She'll be okay."

Annette looked at her friend sorrowfully.

"I really hope so."

Mitch was waiting for Annette that afternoon near Jock's bone bank. When she saw him, she practically dove into him tearfully. He was circling her in an instant, panicking when he saw her crying. Annette was not a cryer.

"What's wrong, Ma'am? Annette?" Mitch examined her face worriedly. "Do I need to beat someone up?" Annette blinked tears from her eyes and sniffled.

"No." She then explained to her friend that Collette was now avoiding her. She hadn't spoken a word to Annette, or even acknowledged her existence since that morning. It seemed to make matters much worse when her father had obliviously asked her if she was going to visit Mitch today. Mitch stared at the mixed breed thoughtfully. By the end of Annette's disheartening story, she was blinking back another round of tears.

Mitch pressed close and nuzzled Annette softly, trying to comfort her.

"Hey now. Don't cry." He soothed. "It's gonna be okay. She's your sister. She'll forgive you. She's your sister." He repeated the last sentence gently in Annette's ear. She began to calm.

Mitch pulled away and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I know what you need. Come on, I wanna show you something."

Annette shook her head to clear the tears from her eyes, and stood up to follow Mitch. Despite her sadness, she wondered what her best friend was up to.

"We aren't going to the blue house?" She asked. Mitch steered close to Annette while they walked, brushing himself against her.

"Nope. We're going somewhere even better."

"The park?"

Annette and Mitch were standing on the edge of the lush green park now, side by side. Mitch wagged his tail and grinned. He had something up his sleeve, and Annette wanted to know what it was.

"Close your eyes." He ordered. Annette took a deep breath and did as she was told. She felt Mitch press his side firmly to hers.

"Okay." He said. "Stick right close to me, now. Don't open those eyes. And stop _right_ when I tell you okay?"

Annette nodded. "Okay."

"You gotta promise that last bit, Ma'am." He was stern with his words.

"I promise." What was he up to?

"Alright, come on now. Stay close." The two set off at a slow pace. Occasionly, Mitch swerved Annette around in a wide arc, or made her stop while he moved sticks from her path. She felt the grassy park ground turn into dirt, then back into grass again. Finally, Mitch gave a sharp order.

"Stop!" He barked. Annette stopped dead in her tracks. She felt the terrier's tough frame tense next to her. He was excited.

"Open your eyes, Annette." He said softly. When she did as told, the cocker spaniel cross gasped audibly. They were standing on a natural, grassy ledge high above the town. Annette could see each and every street and house in the land, like a great lot of dollhouses and human childrens playthings, and a beautiful, rolling expanse of hills carried along the town's edge. The hills carried on like something out of a dream, with tiny farms dotting them every once in a while. Past the limit of the farms was untamed, yet to be settled upon. The sun shone brightly over all of this, leaving the sky as clear and blue as it could ever be. Neither of the dogs knew it, but this was the very location where, long ago, Annette and her siblings had been conceived.

"It's beautiful." Annette breathed. She tore her eyes away from the incredible scene below to look at Mitch. He was still pressed close, he hadn't moved after leading Annette here.

"_You're_ beautiful." He said, giving Annette's cheek a little kiss. Annette flushed and returned the kiss, giggling and grinning. Mitch grinned back against her fur.

"Beautiful and sweet, and kind." He went on, nuzzling Annette's brown fur and sat down with her, placing a paw on hers. "Did I mention beautiful?" He said playfully.

"Yeah. You did." A smooth male voice interrupted the couple's happy moment. Both Annette and Mitch whipped around to see a pair of German Shepherds blocking the path. There was no way around them. The Shepherds appeared to be around the same age as Annette and Mitch, although they were much larger. They were identical in every aspect. Annette glanced between one and the other and couldn't tell them apart.

"William? _Bill?_ Mitch shocked Annette by calling the Shepherds by name.

"Hiya, Mitchie." One of the big dogs said. "Funny meeting you here. Really surprised me." He didn't seem surprised at all, in Annette's opinion. The other dog snickered and flicked one of his huge ears. In true German Shepherd fashion, neither of the adolescent dogs had grown into their ears yet, so they were weak and slightly floppy.

"I ent' seen you two around in a while." Mitch said cautiously. William and Bill glanced at each other briefly.

"We got recruited for the gangs." The other Shepherd took a turn talking. His voice was rougher than his velvet voiced twin.

"You and William in a gang...fancy that." Mitch said tensely. In the same instant, he was in front of Annette, protecting her from even the word 'gang'.

Both of the Shepherds looked at each other again.

"There wasn't a choice for us." The gruff one, Bill, said.

"And you don't have one either." William said smoothly. Before Annette could comprehend what had happened, Mitch was shoving Annette with his paws.

"Go, go! Run! Run, Annette!" He said frantically. The two dogs darted like liquid between the Shepherds legs. Both of the bigger dogs looked startled for a second, but they recovered quickly. Far too quickly. Annette was running as fast as she could, with Mitch shoving her along the way to keep her going.

Mitch and Annette had speed, but the big dogs still had an advantage over them. Their long, loping legs caught up quickly to the two, and Annette was crushed under one of the Shepherds only seconds after she and Mitch had made a run for safety. Mitch was captured as well, lying flat on his belly. He was squirming and clawing the ground, leaving deep scratches in the dirt and grass.

Annette was on her back. She was staring right into a long muzzle full of huge, pearly white teeth. The dog's voice led her to believe that this was Bill.

"Hiya, doll." His hot breath washed over Annette's fur when he spoke, and even worse as he laughed. Annette felt a surge of anger. She raked one of her small paws over his muzzle, trying to scratch him. He just laughed again. Annette guessed that this pair of dogs didn't have any manners.

Bill roughly rolled Annette over with one of his tan colored paws and snatched her off of the ground by her scruff. The same was done to Mitch by William. She was far too big to be carried like this, at a year old. It hurt her skin. She curled her hind legs in against her belly in an attempt to stop herself from being dragged along the ground. Bill fell into step behind William, and they were off.

Annette didn't know the city very well. She had no idea where the Shepherds were taking them. Most of her concern for the time being was the pain in her rump as Bill dragged her across the land. She had had enough of this.

Annette kicked her hind legs out and braced her feet against the sidewalk that Bill was currently carrying her over. The big tan and black shepherd growled out his frustration around Annette's scruff. William was laughing around a mouthful of Mitch. When Bill tried to walk with her like this, he nearly tripped over her feet. A surge of hope flared up inside Annette's chest. She began squirming wildly in Bill's jaws. He snarled loudly and crunched his teeth into Annette's skin so hard that she felt his teeth scrape together as they pulverized the sensitive nape of her neck. Her head flew backwards with the pain, butting Bill hard on the nose. He somehow managed to tighten his grip even further, ripping through Annette's skin like butter. She screamed and squealed frantically, removing her feet from the pavement to curl up as tightly as she could. Bill was breathing hard in his anger, and Annette's blood bubbled out of his mouth with his own saliva.

"Stop! You're hurting her!" Mitch shouted frantically "Bill!" Bill huffed out another round of Annette's blood through his mouth and loosened his grip slightly. Annette didn't dare loosen her huddled position for fear that moving would anger him again. When he realized that she was behaving, he started walking again. Annette closed her eyes and prayed that she would wake up from this nightmare soon.

Their destination soon became clear. With Mitch muttering foul curses to the Shepherd twins, Annette finally opened her eyes to take a peek at their surroundings. They had reached the junkyard. Bill and William were slowing down now, as if they dreaded to enter the place themselves. After a moment's hesitation and a long look at each other, the big dogs dragged their prisoners through a black drainage pipe propped in the wooden fencing of the junkyard.

Once inside, Annette saw that escape would be near impossible. She and Mitch were thrown into the cold dust in the middle of the Junkyard. The place was nothing like what her brother had described to her on many different occasions. It was still the same junkyard, with the same filth, trash, and debris in it. It still had the pipe entrance, and it was surrounded with a mixture of wooden and chain link fencing.

The difference was the dogs. Even under Buster's rule, Scamp would tell her that the junkyard dogs were usually playful and jolly, living happily amongst each other here. Everything had changed. There was a single heavyset grey dog guarding the pipe. Huddled in an overturned baby carriage were a variety of very different puppies. Annette counted five of them. A dozen skinny dogs of all different sizes, though none too big, were milling around like sunken eyed ghosts. A few turned to gaze blankly at Annette and Mitch, who were lying stunned in the dirt. Aside from the starving canines, there were also at least six well fed, well muscled dogs studying the new arrivals from various high points in the surrounding junk.

Annette heard William's smooth, sarcastic voice somewhere behind her. His words left her chilled and frightened.

"Welcome to Hell."

**Uh oh...something really big is going down. Where are you going with this Essansee?! Let me know what you guys think. :) **


	7. Ch 7 Marked

Annette stood and swallowed hard. She felt as if the six looming canines were boring holes in her with their stares. She realized with a start that one of these dogs was Harley, standing on a splintering, ancient wardrobe. The rest were various mixes of dogs, none any specific breed or coloring. As her wide brown eyes darted between the six, a movement caught her attention. She turned to see one of the dogs, a silky coated mongrel with mottled black and white markings and peircing blue eyes, hopping almost gracefully down the massive mound of trash in the middle of the junkyard. Old cans and various other small peices of the hill rattled and clunked under his feet as he made his way down. He wasn't any larger than his companions, and didn't seem to be particularly strong, but there was an atmosphere around the mutt which shouted his authority over the rest of the dogs.

With a final, almost impossible looking bound, the dog leaped to the ground from one of the vantage points where a golden mixed breed with short fur stood. As the mottled dog passed her, Annette saw her flinch away slightly, as if she was afraid of touching him.

The blue eyed canine hit the ground with an alarming thud, but almost instantly stood up from his crouch. He trotted over to the four new arrivals, Mitch, Annette, William, and Bill.

The two Shepherds immediately lowered their heads until their long noses were practically touching the ground, in a submissive gesture. The twins both had their tails tucked firmly between their legs. Annette found this bizarre. She'd never seen a heirarchy like this before. Upon glancing at Mitch, he looked as bewildered as she.

"Bow your heads." The mottled dog ordered. His voice was deep, but soft. When he spoke, Annette realized that he was older than she had first thought. He was close enough now that Annette could see flecks of gray in the black spots on his face and shoulders. His grizzled face was littered with scars. She stared, open mouthed, hardly comprehending the order she'd just been given. Mitch snarled defiantly beside her.

In a single, almost identical motion, William and Bill both thrust a paw onto the smaller dog's heads, pressing them into the dust.

"I'd suggest you do as he says." William said, sounding as if he was worried about his own hide. Bill growled his agreement beside his brother. It seemed that the gravel voiced dog was the less talkative of the two.

"Leave them." The mottled dog said calmly. As if pulled by invisible strings, the adolescent German Shepherds stepped back. The older dog began a slow, steady pace around Annette and Mitch, studying them. This drove the two silently closer together.

"You two have begun a new life." The dog said, almost hypnotically. He sounded like a snake. Annette hated his voice already.

"We have a life. Let us go." Mitch snapped. Annette couldn't find her voice. It didn't matter anyway, because the older dog acted as if he hadn't heard. He didn't stop pacing or talking, aside from a pause at Mitch's protest.

"Nothing will change what you are now. I called for you, and you came. You are mine. You are ours. You will remain so. " He blinked his blue eyes slowly. "You may call me Father if you wish. Or Azriel." Even this odd name ignited a fire in Annette's belly. She would never call this dog father. Mitch echoed her thoughts aloud.

"You are not our father." Mitch growled. "We ent' callin' you that, Bub."

Azriel halted and turned his near trance-like gaze to Mitch, who curled his lip.

"Azriel it is then." The dog said calmly. He continued his pacing as his sentence ended. Annette found herself watching the weird dog with every turn he made around them. She didn't want to turn her back on him for a second.

Azriel paced around them once more, blinking that slow, slow blink, as though his eyelids were heavy. He stopped again, this time in front of William and Bill.

"Bow your heads." Azriel repeated his command, this time to the Shepherds, who obeyed without question.

"Teach the newcomers our ways." He instructed. "And tell Bentley to mark heads. I want these two recorded."

"Yes Father." William said.

"Yes Father." Bill echoed, identically submissive. He licked his lips as though he was nervous. Azriel gave no indication that he heard the two. He simply walked away. When he reached the junk mound, he began to gracefully ascend up the pile. Suddenly, he skirted around it at the middle, and was lost from Annette's sight.

"Duty calls." William said sarcastically when his 'father' was out of earshot. It was apparent that he did not want any part of what he had been ordered to do.

"First thing's first." Bill growled. In the blink of an eye, he had lunged for Annette. She gasped and pushed his snarling muzzle away with all of her might, but he was relentless, snapping and grabbing at her throat. William was fighting to keep Mitch from jumping into the scene. Mitch was livid. Annette could hear William cursing at him for drawing blood.

"Stop that." The bigger dog snarled, giving the terrier a hard knock on the head. Mitch fell back, stunned from the blow. Bill had Annette's collar hooked firmly in his massive teeth. Annette was struggling for breath. She opened her mouth wide, trying to suck in enough air to stay concious. And then, it was over. She and Bill reeled away from each other, with the blue collar still dangling from the Shepherd's mouth. Annette gasped cold, clean air, for the first time in her life grateful that she could even breathe.

William let go of Mitch to nurse his bloodied forelegs. Mitch had done a number on him. The terrier rushed to Annette the moment his legs hit the ground. He whipped around when he reached her, glaring venomously at the twins. Many of the junkyard residents had stopped to watch curiously from where they stood.

"You could have killed her!" He yelled. Annette was still breathing hard. Bill tossed her collar to the side, where it landed neatly in a rusting metal barrel that was full to overflowing with automobile parts and numerous other stolen collars. The collars all made a little jingling sound when Annette's hit.

William rolled his eyes and sighed again.

"She's fine, Mitch. You've always been too edgy." Annette wondered how long the dogs had known each other. William and Bill advanced upon them, making Mitch snarl. Annette even let out a growl herself. Enough was enough.

"Too edgy my-"

"Shut up and listen." Bill said roughly. "Or you're not gonna survive this place." He and his brother exchanged a knowing glance. Mitch fell silent.

William took over for his brother.

"Bill's right. Listen up. You two are dogmeat. You will be marked and watched, always." He told them. Annette was ready to throw up. She wanted to go home. Mitch spoke cautiously beside her.

"You will be..ah..evaluated soon for your skills." Bill was speaking again. "You have no rights to food. No rights to life. You are nothing, and you haven't even earned that. We give you that." He sounded like he had repeated this speech many times.

"Did you make that little speech up yourself?" Mitch snorted. "Or did someone feed it to you until you remembered it?"

A growl erupted from deep within Bill's throat. The hotheaded Shepherd lunged for Mitch, but his brother intercepted him smoothly.

"Bill!" He snapped. "Father won't be happy if you hurt them. You know how he is." He muttered the last sentence so quietly that Annette almost didn't hear him.

Bill shook his head wildly, looking like he was trying to shake his anger out. He whipped around and strode off in that instant, still growling to himself. William turned to face his charges.

"Sorry about that." He said, not sounding sorry at all. "You two have to figure everything else out for yourself. Rules apply." He sighed. "See ya Mitchie." He then galloped after his brother, kicking a cloud of dust up behind him.

Annette and Mitch stayed pressed together for a while. Neither knew what would happen if they left the place they had been left in. Both dogs stood quietly, taking in their surroundings.

"We're free to roam here." A female voice made Mitch and Annette whirl around. Annette was afraid of what, or who, they would be facing next. She'd seen enough hostile, crazy dogs today to last a lifetime.

Annette relaxed a bit when she recognized the dog towering over them as one of the thin ghosts that had watched their arrival. Beside her, Mitch's tight muscles eased. He recognized the dog as well. She was bone thin, and her chocolate coat was dull. Her sad brown eyes held a friendly glow, however.

"Just don't tick the bosses off." She leaned forward and mumbled. Mitch and Annette both stared at her blankly. They didn't know what to say.

"Oh yeah. Name. Always forget the name." The Labrador looking dog said. "This place kind of scrambles you sometimes." She explained. "My name is Polly."

Mitch spoke up for himself and Annette.

"I'm Mitch, and this is Annette. And we want to leave. Where's the nearest exit?" He said bitterly. Polly seemed to understand that this wasn't directed at her.

"We're all stuck here. Come on. I'll show you around." She walked away without waiting for the pair. She was so thin that Annette thought it a wonder that her paws even left prints in the dust. Mitch and Annette watched her for a while, and then began to ease after her. Annette kept herself pressed against Mitch while she walked. There wasn't a chance in the world that she was letting him out of her sight.

Polly stopped at the overturned carriage that was spilling with puppies. She nosed them in a motherly way, licking a few of their little heads. They toddled from the carriage to greet her, pawing at her legs and squeaking softly. They ranged in age and size, but none were old enough to talk. There were two brown and white puppies, one fluffy bundle of long white fur, a chocolate, like Polly herself, and one incredibly tiny black pup that looked as though she was barely old enough to toddle around.

"Go back inside, little ones." She crooned softly to the pups, nudging them into the carriage. Annette suspected that at least one of these pups was actually Polly's own. It was then that she noticed that the older dog was nursing.

"These are our kids." Polly introduced the infants. She turned a sad gaze on Annette and Mitch. "A few of our kids." The brown dog corrected herself. Annette felt a stab of dread in her chest. She didn't want to know where the rest were. Mitch scooted closer to her.

Polly gave the five pups a longing look. She shook her bristling fur out and gave a loud shudder.

"On with the tour, eh?"

Polly showed Annette and Mitch everywhere that they were allowed to go. They were allowed free roam of the junkyard, for the most part. This included most of the grounds, aside from anywhere near the pipe entrance. The dogs weren't allowed on the junk heap either. Only those that passed their assessments were allowed. That left the entire mound to the six healthy dogs, William, Bill, and Azriel.

The chocolate Labrador introduced the two to the other five prisoners as she went along.

"The grey over there is Stella. She's a bit of a grouch, so stay out of her way if you can. The Beagle's name is Boomer, and he's pretty shy. He mostly only talks to that guy there, the black and white collie dog. His name is Deedro. Deedro's girlfriend is here too. They got caught together like you guys." Polly shot Annette and Mitch a quizzical look before finishing. "Her name is Pepper. She's a spotty girl, you can't miss her. But I don't know where she is right now...oh! And then over there is Sunny." Polly nodded in the direction of a wistful looking, bandy legged, light brown dog with long, drooping ears. "That's everyone." She concluded.

By the time Polly had finished the tour of their prison, it was nearly dark. The air had cooled dramatically in that time, and stars were only just beginning to twinkle into the sky.

"I guess it's time to turn in." Polly sighed. "Another night in Hell, eh?" Annette could see now why everyone was calling the place Hell. If she had her way, she'd run screaming from the junkyard without a second thought. Annette wished with all of her heart that she was home with her family right now. Or at least somewhere safe with Mitch.

"_You there!" _A sharp bark echoed from some distance away. For at least the fourth time that day, Annette and Mitch turned around to see who it was. If only they could just be left alone! One of the well fed dogs was trotting closer.

He was a big dog, with short grey fur and thick muscles. His ears were torn close to his head, giving them the appearance of being pointed nubs. He had a big black lower lip that stuck out like he was pouting. His eyes were a beautiful shade of silver.

"Alright you two. Come on." He said gently. Annette didn't expect this. She had begun to expect that all of these dogs were rude, illmannered monsters. "I need to mark ya."

Polly shuddered again.

"I forgot about that." She whispered.

"What's marking?" Annette envisioned the pouty dog urinating on them. She hoped it wasn't _that_ kind of marking. She and Mitch followed the muscular dog without question though. There was no choice in the matter. Annette was afraid to find out what the punishment for defying these dogs was. There would be no escape for them in an emergency.

The big grey dog led the pair to the far back wall of the junkyard. Annette wrinkled her nose against the smell of blood back here. She and Mitch both stopped in their tracks when they saw the wooden fencing. It was smeared with dried, bloody pawprints and streaks.

"What are you going to do to us?" Annette squeaked. She and Mitch backed up until they hit another dog, a big bloodhound. Annette had a senseless though for a moment, wondering if it was her neighbor Trusty. This dog was no Trusty though, and he was much, much younger. He drooled heavily on her head.

The grey dog spoke again in that gentle voice. It was almost comforting in a way.

"Nobody's died yet from Bentley's marking. It's just a little cut, that's all. You'll see. I wouldn't do it if I had the choice, love. Come here."

Annette reluctantly eased towards Bentley with Mitch right behind.

"Give me your paw." The grey dog said. Annette held out a shaking paw. Bentley put his huge, white tipped paw on hers and jammed it down onto a nearby nail, which was poking hazardously out of a piece of splintered wood on the ground. He continued to press her paw down until it was sliced open on the pad. Annette squeaked in pain. When Bentley released her paw, he apologized softly.

"I'm sorry, my dear. It must be done. Put your paw here." He nodded to the wooden fencing. Annette squeezed her eyes shut and hovered her paw over the wood, not wanting the cut to touch anything. Bentley once again placed his paw over hers and pressed it firmly against the wood. When Annette drew her paw back, a bloody stain was left behind. The big bloodhound lumbered over and inhaled deeply over the stain.

She was marked.


	8. Ch 8 Loss and Journey

Bentley explained the bizarre procedure as Mitch took his turn. Annette couldn't bear to watch as the brown and white terrier's paw was torn open on the nail. He took it well though, only letting out a hiss of pain through his teeth.

"The smell of your blood is recorded now. You can be trailed anywhere by ol' Samuel." The muscular grey dog nodded his wide head at the Bloodhound, Samuel, who was sniffing at Mitch's fresh pawprint on the fence.

"You two gotta earn the right to leave this Junkyard." Bentley said. He released Mitch's paw. "Go on, Boy." Hopping on three legs, Mitch obeyed the gentle voiced male. He hobbled over to Annette to sniff at her oozing paw before his own. Bentely wasn't done speaking yet, though.

"Samuel can track you anywhere, so escape ain't happening. When you youngsters pass your physical assessments, you're gonna be allowed to wander, so keep that in mind."

Samuel swung his head around from the stained wall, groaning faintly. He blinked his red eyes and rumbled, "Duties to the Father cannot be escaped."

Bentley nodded.

"Eye, it's true. There is no escape. Now, be off. I can't say anymore." Bentely cast a nervous eye around the area. He tossed his head to emphasize the point, and sent Annette and Mitch limping on their way. Samuel watched them go. His massive nose twitched, as though he was already smelling the pair of dogs. Annette shuddered. Was there really no escape? Maybe if they made it back to the Victorian house...but how would they get past the dog on the pipe?

Mitch nudged Annette's cheek, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"How's your paw?" He said tensely, while they stopped to hide under the detatched hood of a car that was jutting out of the massive junk heap. No one said they weren't allowed under the pile. He leaned down to sniff her paw before she could respond.

"It's fine. It was just a little cut. How's yours?" Annette responded.

Mitch shrugged. He lifted his tired gaze to Annette's face. She met his eyes while tears welled in her own. She wanted to go home. She was exhausted and filthy, and she missed her family already. Annette thought of Collette, and wished that she could apologize to her for not telling her the truth about Mitch.

Mitch seemed to read her thoughts. He pressed his muzzle to her cheek and mumbled into her fur. His voice broke into a whisper.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you." He rasped. Annette's heart went out to the terrier. It wasn't his fault. She nuzzled him comfortingly.

"You didn't know that this would happen." She said. Mitch shook his head and shivered against a cold breeze that had found its way into their meager shelter. Annette pressed closer.

"Tell me how you know William and Bill." She offered a subject change, hoping to get Mitch's mind off of things. She knew that there would be no comfort for either of them until they found a way out, but for now she wanted to see her best friend's tensions eased.

The two dogs huddled together against the wind while Mitch began his story.

"I've known Will and Bill since we were pups." He began. "Little pups. Our mothers were friends. They would visit each other nearly every day. My mother was a stray, she wasn't no pet. But William and Bill were born for the humans." He looked at Annette as he said this, almost wistfully. "They belonged to the humans, but they were gonna be split up, goin' to new homes away from each other, for human jobs. They ran away. They came to me, but..." Mitch winced, continuing softly. Annette had never heard him speak of his past before. She listened carefully, holding onto every word.

"My mother was gone. Bill and Will found me alone. I don't know where she went, and I never saw her again. They told me they didn't wanna go home to their mama, because they were afraid. I was happy to have them. I was alone. Me and those two were a team after that, they helped me look for my mom, and I showed them what she'd shown me about livin' on the streets." He smiled a little at this, remembering his friends fondly. Even in their sad situation, Annette found herself caring for him more all the time.

"Things didn't stay like that, though. I lost them a while before you came along. Buster had gotten real nasty, brought in dogs like Harley from somewhere. The gangs started to take over everything, and then, William and Bill left me. I didn't know 'til today that they'd gone and joined these thugs." He snorted the last bit in contempt.

"They changed a lot, didn't they?" Annette mumbled. Mitch nodded and sighed.

"Gather up!" Someone outside of their shelter howled. The two dogs jumped at the sound. They peeked cautiously from their shelter. The six prisoners were slowly making their way to the middle of the now dark, shadowy yard to stand in a line. They looked beaten and defeated. They'd done this before.

Annette could see the dog who had made the call now. It was a lean, brown brindled dog with a smashed muzzle. He howled again.

"Come on, I want to see everyone here, in line, right now! You know the drill. Get your tails out here, now." Polly passed Mitch and Annette's hooded shelter. She slowed as she walked by, jerking her head frantically for the two to come out. They scurried out under her paws together without a word.

The brindle male was pacing in front of the line of prisoners with his head held high. His white paws kicked up clouds of dust while he walked. Polly, Annette, and Mitch took a place at the end of the line. Annette wanted to ask Polly what was happening, but she bit her tongue. She was afraid to speak with the brindle dog still yelling for order in front of them.

The dog stopped his howling when everyone had finished quietly lining up in a long row, with enough space for another canine between them. Only Annette and Mitch broke the pattern. Annette was afraid of what might happen if she let go of her friend in this place.

On the far end of the line stood the Beagle, and nose to nose with him was the brindle, who had stopped and leaned down to stare at him muzzle nearly touched the white streak on the Boomer's forehead.

"What do you have to offer?" The brindle dog gruffed. The Beagle's big, tan colored ears went back momentarily, but he stood his ground. He was incredibly soft spoken. More than once as he responded, he had to clear his throat to adjust his voice.

"Bread, Sir. One loaf, nearly whole. Taken from an afternoon picnic." The Beagle's rear paws shifted nervously in the quiet that followed. After a nearly endless pause, the brown dog moved down the line, repeating the same question to Deedro.

Deedro was tall, with black markings and a thick, white ruff of fur around his neck and over his chest. His long legs, which were white almost to the elbow, were braced stiff and straight under him. He was as sunken eyed and unhealthy as his companians, but he kept his proud stance.

"Information, Sir." He said uniformly. Annette suspected that he was a working dog in the past. He didn't even flinch when the brindle dog, who was as tall as he, met his eyes.

"A farm on the far side of town has introduced a new watch dog, Sir." He continued. The brindle raised a dark eyebrow. "And a fine litter of pups has begun leaving their nest at the firehouse." He paused, letting the looming canine in front of him speak.

"What were you doing near the farms, Deedro?" He growled menacingly. Deedro was quiet. Despite his overall fearless attitude, his tail found its way under his legs. Annette, who had been watching the exchange from her place in line, thought she saw him gulp.

"I-I was following orders, Sir. I was told to scout for resources." Deedro was nervous. The brindle dog's fur was rising on his spine. He curled his lip back menacingly in the border collie's face. The black and white dog involuntarily took a step back as the brindle bore over him.

"You know better than that." A snarl ripped through his words like a sharp knife. Deedro stumbled backwards again. He was no longer fearless. He was a frightened pup who was about to be punished harshly. Annette and Mitch cringed into each other. Annette couldn't understand what the collie had done wrong. The brindle answered her question with another heavy snarl.

"Home is forbidden._ This _is your home, Deedro!" He barked, spewing slobber onto the frightened dog. Deedro's mouth had fallen open. His dark eyes were wide enough that Annette could see their whites ringing them.

"You belong to_ us! _To your Father, Azriel." The brindle's angry tone died down into a sickly sweet one. He turned to address the golden female that Annette had seen earlier that day. She had arrived only moments ago, curious about the brindle dog's angry barking, which was echoing and ringing through the place like harsh bells.

"Mona." He snapped. "Take this one to see Father. He needs to be punished." Mona nodded and circled around the border collie, herding him away.

"You bad puppy, you. Not doing what Scoomp tells you." She said this without expression. Another dog who couldn't care less. The next dog in line, a speckled, silky coated dog who's description matched the name of Pepper, attempted to follow. She wore a look of terror on her narrow face. When the brindle dog, apparently named Scoomp, blocked her path, she tossed her head wildly. Her tiny paws danced in place. Scoomp shoved her roughly with his chest, pushing her back into line.

"What do you have to offer?" He said, acting as though the incident never happened. Pepper bowed her head in defeat. Her feathery tail fell and she closed her eyes. The spotted dog could hardly be heard.

"Children, Sir." She whispered. "To be born and raised here, under our father Azriel." Annette could hardly believe her ears. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to be trapped in a prison like this, only to find that you were pregnant. It must be devastating.

Scoomp gave no notice that this surprised or even affected him. He gave a little snort and moved down the line. Pepper visibly relaxed. Her thin legs were still shaking long after Scoomp had taken his gaze off of her.

Scoomp went down the line quickly after this, without incident. He stopped in front of each dog, asking them the same question. What did they have to offer? They gave him a simple answer, a bit of information about a food source or item, or a potential captor.

He was almost at the end of the line now, he had reached the dog nearest Polly, which was the grey female, Stella. She lifted her chin high, as though she was a member of authority herself. She began speaking before Scoomp's question was even asked.

"Information, Sir." She said. Her voice was gravelly and rough. She sounded like the kind of dog that would bite your head off if given the chance. "Humans, dogcatchers, planning a raid on the Junkyard. They've been tipped off that we're all here. They are not happy with recent attacks. They say the dog packs across the city will be wiped away to prevent problems."

Annette felt a strong, warm flare of hope in her chest. She and Mitch shared a look. If the humans stopped these dogs, then they would be allowed to go home. Nothing could stop angry humans. They had too much up their sleeves.

Scoomp's eyes widened. He was speechless. Annette could practically hear the wheels squeaking in his massive head while he tried to comprehend this. He eventually tossed his head in the direction of the junk heap.

"Tell Harley that you have my permission to see Father." He muttered. Stella ducked her head, almost bowing as she back out of the line.

"Yes Sir." She said, sounding utterly triumphant. Her eyes glittered excitedly. Annette had a bad feeling about this dog.

Scoomp turned sharply to Polly, but lost focus on her when he saw Mitch and Annette, huddled together at the end of the line. His brindle ears perked as he gazed down on the smaller dogs.

"What's this?" He said, half to himself. Neither Mitch nor Annette spoke. The brindle dog leaned down for a closer look. "Too close." He shoved Annette away from Mitch, making her fall into the dust with a grunt. Annette was terrified. She was seperated now from Mitch's warmth and comforting, and there was an unpleasant cold creeping through her fur where he'd been seconds before, warming her. "What is your offering?" The dog demanded. He was edgy now.

Polly spoke up for the two. Scoomp whipped around to glare at her when she answered for the pair. "They just got here. They have nothing, they aren't allowed outside, Sir. You see their marks are still fresh."

In the blink of an eye, Polly's head reeled back as Scoomp hit her hard across the cheek. She yelped and fell to the ground. Annette half expected her bones to rattle with the impact. Scoomp stood over her threateningly.

"And what do _you_ have for me, wretch?" He barked. Polly cowered into the ground with her eyes shut tightly. A few of the dogs backed up, trying to distance themselves from Scoomp's attack.

Polly didn't respond. Scoomp aimed a kick at her middle, making her groan. She curled herself into a tight ball and shook like an infant. She didn't retaliate or protest, or try to escape the beating. She accepted it with only a pained expression on her face. Annette didn't understand it. She cast a terrified look at Mitch, who returned it. There was nothing they could do to help the poor dog.

"What do you have, Polly?" Scoomp growled again. Polly whimpered and shook her head. She had nothing.

"I was worried about that." Scoomp shook his head. "You know what happens when we don't bring anything home, now." He said slowly, as if the skinny dog wouldn't understand him otherwise.

Polly's eyes flew open wide. She scrambled for a hold on the ground, suddenly panicking.

"No, please!" She was on her belly, clawing the ground around Scoomp's paws. "Please, don't do this. I can't-I won't-you can't do this!" The brown dog was in hysterics. Tears were welling in her brown eyes. Scoomp shook his head once more, feigning sarcastic disappointment.

"Harley will see you in the morning. Now get out of here!" He kicked the sobbing dog again, who bolted for the carriage across the junkyard. Annette could hear the pups faintly whimpering inside, happy to see the chocolate dog.

Annette turned back to Scoomp, glaring hatred at him. She wasn't sure what the vicious dog was up to, but she knew that it involved hurting Polly's children. She had never wanted to hurt another dog in her life, but this beast made Annette's blood boil hot and furious. She imagined what the humans would do to him when they got here. She hoped that somehow, he would suffer. She wanted most of the canines in this hell-hole to suffer. Her own thoughts scared her badly, but she couldn't shake them.

Scoomp turned to leave. He stopped briefly to cast a message over his shoulder at the five remaining dogs before trotting away. "You're all free to go." He muttered.

Everyone released their tensed muscles. No one was relaxed, though. The dogs all bowed their heads, blinking sadly. There was a grief stricken silence hanging heavily in the air.

The shy Boomer was the first to break it.

"They'll take her own." He whispered raggedly. Annette understood. They were planning on killing one of Polly's pups to punish her.

"Is there anything we can do?" Annette dared to utter. A few of the dogs looked at each other as if they were searching each other for an answer.

Sunny spoke up when no one else did.

"We've tried to help her. We were gonna help her get out with the pups, before Harley got there. We lost her son for it." He closed his eyes and shivered. "We all got punished bad."

"Scoomp is always on Polly for something. He finds the worst punishments possible for her." Pepper said tearfully.

Mitch closed the distance between himself and Annette while he spoke. "The humans are coming soon. We'll be out of this place before long, right?" He said hopefully. "Maybe we could hide the pups somewhere until-" Pepper practically tackled Mitch in her efforts to shush him.

All eyes landed on Mona, who was shoving Deedro along in front of her. She commanded him to stop, and he did.

"Stay here, until its over." She demanded. Deedro moved to sit down and recieved a sharp bite to the cheek that left him bleeding. He yelped and stumbled backwards.

"You're not allowed to sit, Kid." Mona said. "No sleep. No food, no water. No rest. Three days."

Annette heard this and closed her eyes. She gave a silent prayer that she would escape this place soon.

Annette slept that night curled into Mitch, in a long, wooden crate that was missing one end. The two dogs were shivering and hungry, but they managed to find sleep. The filthy little cocker spaniel dreamed terrible things when she slept. She dreamed of escape, only to find herself imaled on giant yellowing teeth when she made it onto the streets. She dreamed that Polly, who was sleeping nearby with her puppies in her arms, tried to hide their lifeless bodies in a crocodile's mouth, and Jim Dear came to give her a much needed bath, only to have her find that he was Azriel, and she was watching his cool blue eyes from under the surface of the bath water as she drowned.

A bloodcurdling howl woke Annette before the sun had even risen. She and Mitch both raised their heads quickly, forgetting for a moment where they were. The howl erupted again. It was a sound filled with such grief and desperation that it made Annette's entire body ache with longing for whoever it belonged to. And in that same second that she thought it, Annette realized who it belonged to. She and Mitch exchanged a look of absolute horror. They scrambled to their feet and rushed out to help in whatever way they could.

Where were the other dogs in this time of crisis? Annette jerked her head back and forth in her shocked state, searching for them. Boomer was hiding near the wooden crate, shaking like a leaf. Pepper was being held back by William and Bill, pinned at her side against the fence that lined the Junkyard. She lashed out every now and then with a bite aimed at the two dogs restricting her movements.

Annette stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the horrifying scene before her. Sunny and Deedro were standing nearby, gazing sorrowfully at Polly, but doing nothing to help. There was nothing that could be done. The spaniel's throat grew tight and her eyes stung with hot tears.

It was too late for the tiny brown pup that had looked so much like its mother. It hung limp and lifeless in Harley's mouth. He swung his enourmous head around to Polly, who was pinned on her belly under three muscular dogs, including Scoomp and Mona. She was fighting them wildly. Her paws were bloodied from clawing the ground under her. She was no match for the healthier dogs. Harley stared for a while, and then strode away with his prize. When he had left their sight, the three dogs released Polly, who began to writhe on the ground, wailing pitifully for someone to kill her. The pair that had pinned Pepper to the wall backed off of her as well.

Annette closed her eyes and tried to block out Polly's crying. It wasn't need though, as one of the dogs startled the grief stricken Labrador into hushing with a single, sharp blow to the head. After recovering from the shock of being hit, Polly just laid her head down and covered it with her paws, whimpering softly.

"Attention." An almost cheerful voice called from above. Everyone but Polly looked up to see Azriel standing high on the mound of trash.

"Bad behavior,_ bad _behavior." The mottled dog tsked. "Father doesn't appreciate this in his mission for union." He drabbled on. "Under any other circumstances, you would all be punished severely for this."

All of the dogs stared blankly at Azriel. None of them knew what do do.

"But, I come to you children today with sad, sad news."

"Sadder than dead puppies?" Mitch muttered angrily. Annette almost didn't catch what he had said.

Azriel was too far away to hear him, much to Annette's relief. The blue eyed dog was still talking.

"And that is why," He was saying. "We must leave this town. Humans will ruin our unity if we stay." There was a collective gasp all around. Even Azriel's thugs looked shocked. "I want to be at the rail yard before dawn breaks."

Mitch stepped forward, shouting angrily to the bigger dog. Annette tried to hold him back, but she couldn't stop his words.

"You're insane! Why are you doing this to us?" He barked. Azriel turned slowly to see Mitch. A wry smile crossed his face.

"Father knows best." He sounded like he was talking to an infant. "Unity is needed to maintain a relationship with me, as your father."

Mitch snorted and spit on the ground.

"You are not our father! We have homes and families, and you're taking us from them. You're hurting innocent dogs." He called. He didn't get any further than this. Azriel made one of his impossible leaps from the junk pile. He landed squarely on top of Mitch and Annette, who yelped as he crushed them.

Annette was brushed to the side while the mottled canine lashed into Mitch's face. He howled with pain, and blood welled from his ravaged cheek. He fought back valiantly, at one time he managed to kick Azriel hard in the throat. The bigger dog gagged, but was only angered further.

By the time he stepped calmly away from the terrier to collect himself, Mitch was a bloodied mess. His fur was streaked with gashes and blood, and he had a puncture through the tip of his left ear. He was breathing hard, and he struggled to sit up.

No one but Annette dared to move. She skirted around Azriel to help Mitch, leaning on him while he stood. He could hardly raise his weakened head. Everyone stood motionless and watched.

Azriel, without looking at anyone in particular, called out to the surrounding dogs.

"You see? Father knows best. Father will teach you all unity." Annette heard a growl bubbling in Mitch's throat, but their 'father' was already leaving, stepping over the still whimpering Polly.

"Now, be ready to leave. Our journey is beginning."


	9. Ch 9 Promises

**Whoops! Sorry for the confusion guys, I absoulutely did not mean to post a chapter from the other story. I probably wouldn't have caught it if it wasn't for a few tip offs, so thanks a lot. I was dead dog tired when I posted it, and my internet has been off for several days now. Anyways,here it is, fixed up right. Again, sorry!**

"Everyone on yer feet!" One of the dogs, who had been left in charge, was barking orders. "I want to see all of you, right here, right now, in front of me." While he spoke, William and Bill had begun herding the already huddled crowd of dogs together. They moved as though they had no fight left, like lambs being taken to the slaughter. Only Annette, and the weakened Mitch, seemed to have any resistance in them. There was no telling what the poor canines had been through recently. The harsh death of Polly's pup seemed to have broken their last shred of willpower. The only dog who didn't move was Polly. She was still lying on the ground, only cringing from time to time as someone tripped over her or kicked her to get up.

Annette and Mitch looked at each other. They couldn't just leave her to endure more punishment like that. Annette called out in her soft voice, asking the chocolate furred dog to get up. She only huddled further into herself. Mitch stood, shaking slightly, and left Annette's side for the Labrador's. Annette was behind him, carefully watching over him to be sure that he didn't fall.

"Hear that, Polly?" He shoved her back with his muzzle, trying his hardest to have her stand up. "On your feet, they said! We ent' letting you go out like this." Annette, though she didn't have strength to match the compact terrier mix, began pushing as well.

"Come on. You still have pups! They need you." Annette grunted with effort. The bigger dog sat up, but didn't respond. Her head still hung limp. Her chin was practically touching her chest. Finally, even though she seemed not to hear, she stood and made her way to the carriage. Annette and Mitch didn't have time to watch her nosing her babies out into the cold world. Bill was already on them, herding the two as he had done everyone else, while his brother, Scoomp, and an wiry, black mongrel barked instructions to the crowd of dispondent prisoners.

"Everyone will stay together. One of us to one of you, and the rest will watch for runners." William woofed.

"Stragglers will be punished, big time." Scoomp growled.

While the two were giving these orders, the black dog began dividing everyone into pairs. Polly was pushed into the crowd, and left with, of all dogs, Scoomp. Her puppies stumbled around her feet, wide eyed and scared. He gave her a malicious smile. She didn't react or look him in the eye. One of the pups, the little grey, bravely crept forward to sniff the brindle dog's white tipped paw. He pushed it over, making it fall on its back. Its little paws waved wildly until Polly nosed it gently onto its feet. She still had love for the rest of the pups, even if they weren't hers by blood.

Annette's mind was working hard to figure this out. Surely there was some way out of this mess. Perhaps they could make a run for it when they reached the tracks? She glanced at Mitch. They would be seperated soon. He was weak, but he could still run if he needed to.

"Mitch." Annette said quietly. He shot her a frightened look.

"Don't run. Promise me, you won't try it." He said urgently. "I don't want to see you hurt. We'll figure this out, okay? But not now." Annette hesitated. The brown and white dog was now pleading with his eyes. He was scared.

"I promise."

Mitch let out a loud sigh at her answer, as though he'd been holding his breath. He pressed his muzzle to hers for a split second.

"We don't have a lot of time." He said quickly. "They'll seperate us soon."

Annette nodded. Many the dogs had been matched up now. Polly was quietly keeping her pups rounded up, Boomer was crouched timidly beside the black mutt while he paired the dogs and Pepper was nearby with a shaggy black and white dog, who was almost wolf in appearance.

"Don't fall behind. I know your feet must hurt awful bad, Ma'am. But I need you. I gotta plan." His eyes sparked like lightning. Annette felt a strong sense of warmth and hope when he looked at her like that. Everything would be okay.

She didn't have time to respond. Mitch was roughly shoved away by the black mongrel, who practically tossed the terrier to Bentley, who placed a paw on his back as he hit the ground. Mitch yelped from his injuries, making Annette cringe. She was glad that he was with the gentle Bentley.

"Go on, Brian. I got him." Bentley said calmly to the black dog, who, with a huff, turned his attention to Annette.

Annette herself was paired with Bill. Brian pushed her so strongly that she ran into the Shepherd's long legs. The wounds on her neck still ached terribly, and even oozed blood through their scabs every once in a while. She wasn't ready to face the wicked Shepherd again. He glared down his nose at her and pulled his paw away, like she wasn't worthy to touch him. He tossed his head for her to follow, and when she didn't get up fast enough, he nipped her scabby neck. She bit back a cry and scrambled to her feet.

Everyone was paired now. Sunny was sorrowfully watching William, who was staring at the sky, looking bored out of his mind. He was mumbling something under his breath that only the hound could hear. Annette saw Sunny's big, drooping ears perk and then fold back. He looked slightly offended.

Deedro was in front of Mona. The golden dog was watching him carefully, seeming that she was afraid to even let him out of her sight for a moment. It appeared to Annette that she had been placed in charge of him after his punishment.

Stella appeared around the mound, looking utterly proud of herself. Her head and tail were held high and she wore a little smirk on her aggressively tightened face. Annette hadn't even noticed her absence. Traitor. Walking at her side was the massive Harley. He was licking the last traces of blood from his muzzle. Annette fought back the urge to vomit. There was no guessing anymore what he'd done with the little brown pup. He was the stuff of nightmares, come alive. On Harley's other side was Azriel, who appeared as calm and collected as ever.

"Hello, my children! Are we ready? William?" He cast his eyes around until they landed on the Shepherd, who had already bowed his nose into the dust at the sound of his name.

"Yes, Father. We are ready."

"Wonderful!" The odd, blue eyed canine smiled. "Let us be done here. Follow, my children! To the tracks. We will depart there."

Annette wanted nothing more than to gather Mitch up and bolt with him. She had made a promise though. And aside from her promise, it would be impossible with the formation the dogs were packed in. Every one of the six...no, five, prisoners was pressed firmly into the side of one of their captors. Surrounding them tightly were five of the stronger dogs, plus Stella. Annette had suspected all along that the grey female was bad news. Azriel headed the party, swinging along at the front of the pack like he didn't have a care in the world. Harley strode beside him confidently, guarding the smaller dog as if it was his human master. Azriel was nothing on his own, Annette thought angrily. It was his pet that had the power. If Azriel wanted to control the dogs, it was Harley that struck fear into them.

Annette was deep in thought, watching the wicked dog, when she felt a small impact on her legs. She immediately looked down to find one of Polly's charges, the tiny black female, belly flat on the ground. She had fallen, and was unable to keep up with the other pups. The little black dog whimpered, and Annette leaned down to scoop her up by her scruff.

"Come on, little one." She murmered soothingly. The infant instictively tucked itself into a little ball when Annette picked it up. The cocker mix raised her head high to protect her bundle from the frosty ground below. Bill muttered under his breath and rolled his eyes to the heavens. He gave Annette a small kick in the rump with one of his forelegs to hurry her up.

"Don't you dare fall behind." He grumbled. "Or its on both of our heads." He sounded as anxious as everyone else looked. They were all being rapidly torn from their home at the expense of 'unity', as Azriel called it. Annette strained to look around the crowd of dogs, trying her best to take in as much of the landscape as she could. Mitch, who was in front of her, gave her a warning look over his shoulder. Don't try to leave. She told herself. Mitch had a plan.

They reached the train tracks at the crack of dawn. By this time, Annette couldn't feel her paws. In a way, she was glad. They didn't hurt anymore. They were too numb to hurt. The tiny pup in her mouth was shivering badly. Annette lowered her head, pressing the pup against her chest to share her warmth.

As if it had spoken that night with Azriel himself, a train was screeching to a stop on the tracks. Perhaps the crazy mutt had known it was coming. The thought only saddened Annette further. Everything had been planned accordingly.

Azriel was bold. He held his head high as though he owned the entire world, and nothing could stop him. The mottled black and white dog led his followers directly to the train, which was now stopped. Humans were jumping into and out of cars, already hard at work. He swerved abruptly as he reached it, with a little sound like, 'ah-!' and a chuckle.

A few of the exhausted canines exchanged glances throughout their group. Where was this deranged dog going? The answer became clear soon enough. They reached the tail end of the train, where a faded red railcar stood with its door slightly ajar.

"Come, my darlings. Into our carriage. Hurry now, or Harley will eat your ears!" One look at the massive, bloody-mouthed monster told Annette that Azriel probably wasn't joking. The white dog was a killer.

The taller and more agile of the prisoners were already scrambling into the carriage. Scoomp and Mona were harrassing them to move faster, snapping at their rear ends and casting nervous glances at their leader. The threats applied to them as well.

The smaller canines were lifted roughly into the rail car,including the pups, one by one by their pairings. Mona and Brian both seized a chunk of Boomer and hauled him into the car after them. He whimpered and closed his eyes tightly when his feet left the ground. There was no trouble for the muscular dogs to lift the underweight Beagle. Annette was next. Bill crunched his teeth into her tender neck, making it bleed again. She sucked in a scream of agony for fear of losing her pup when the big dog leaped into the car, tugging her up after him. He nearly threw her when she reached the car, spitting her blood from his mouth.

"Ugh." The Shepherd muttered through his teeth. Annette simply collapsed onto the hay strewn wooden floor in exhaustion and released the black puppy. She remained alert only for Mitch, who was being carefully loaded into the train by Bentley, who was speaking through the terrier's fur in his mouth.

"Easy dush et, shun." He said. Annette could barely pick up the kind dog's garbled words.

"Don' wuna flawre up dose cutsh" He didn't want Mitch's injuries from being quickly and brutally mauled by Azriel to hurt him. Annette was grateful to the grey dog.

Azriel was losing patience though. Annette could see real emotion on his face now, for the first time. His jaw was tensed and twitching madly. His icy blue eyes were narrowed.

"Quickly now. Bentley." He addressed the grey dog, who was standing on his hind legs, with his front paws braced on the car. He had just managed to help Mitch in when the black and white dog spoke to him. He turned to look over his shoulder, speaking as kindly as ever.

"Now, see here, Azriel." He protested lightly. "This one's a little hurt and I didn't want to make it worse. We're all done now." He said. Annette's fur stood on end when she heard a growl rip from Azriel's throat. She almost didn't catch the swift eye contact that Harley had with his leader. In the blink of an eye, the massive white dog lunged at Bentley. Annette heard a sickening crack as the gentle canine's middle thrust forward without the rest of him. His front paws were still hooked on the rail car when it happened. He let out a deep throated cry and fell to the ground. His paws slid off of the car and landed with a thud on the cold ground around him.

There was a shocked quiet before Annette scrambled to her feet and crept to the edge of the car with the rest of the prisoners to see what had become of Bentley.

"Get back! All of yeh, get back!" Mona barked suddenly. She lashed her exposed teeth in Boomer's face, almost making the quiet dog faint with fear. Deedro and Pepper pulled him back with their paws to prevent him from being bitten. Bill kicked Mitch into Annette's side, and the two tumbled over each other. Stella looked on with amusement. As a former prisoner, she was too weak to shove anyone around. The only dog who hadn't moved to investigate was Polly. The chocolate mix was still lying where she had been left. Her pups, including the little black, hid behind her fearfully in the commotion. No one had gotten a look at Bentley.

"He's dead isn't he?" Pepper wailed. "He was kind to us all and now he's dead!" Deedro hushed her gently and pressed his muzzle to her speckled cheek for comfort.

Azriel hopped lightly into the train car, making everyone shrink back in fear. He laughed like he was enjoying a good joke with his friends.

"No, see? Look! He's alive, my beauty!"

Annette was close enough to Deedro to hear a light growl rumbling.

"Don't call her that." He said, too quietly for anyone to hear or acknowledge.

Harley hopped into the car next, making surprisingly little sound for such a huge animal. He leaned heavily out of the car and pulled Bentley in, dragging him by only a foreleg. His flesh seemed to tear like wet paper in the big dog's grip. When he was laid in the wooden floor, Annette saw him breathing slightly. He was alive. He opened his beautiful silver eyes for a moment and rolled them around.

Annette found herself clutching Mitch tightly in her paws. He was doing the same to the spaniel mix, and both were silently praying for the gentle natured dog to live through the trip. The train suddenly lurched into motion, making everyone but Azriel and Harley fall backwards.

Annette held Mitch tighter when they hit the floorboards hard. She shuddered hard and let her eyes fall back on the dying Bentley. Mitch whispered in one of Annette's silky ears, and though she struggled to hear him, his words gave her comfort in the start of their unwanted journey.

"Don't you worry. I'll get you home. I promise."

**Well, that's the end of Part 1 of Journey! I hope you guys liked it...the reason why I'm doing this in two parts is because the second half will have a different POV along with Annette's. Let me know what you think of the story! Part two should be here some time soon. I'd love a review to let me know if I'm doing a good job...or a BAAADDD job. ;3**

**Stay tuned.**


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